Football: Phoenix set for a break

The Phoenix celebrate Jeremy Brockie's double against Brisbane. Photo / Getty

You won't see the Wellington Phoenix play until next month and some of their players will be grateful for the break.

Due to the 16-team Asian Cup that is being hosted across the Tasman, the A-League has been put on hold so Australian football fans can head along to the international tournament without it clashing with the domestic competition. The Asian Cup gets underway on Friday night.

Given the Phoenix have just won three games in eight days and are second on the table, you'd think they would want to keep the ball rolling while they're hot.

But some of their men have endured heavy workloads of late and a couple are banged up, while Roy Krishna's hamstring has kept him out of the past two games and needs more time to heal.

Nathan Burns, the A-League's golden boot leader, will play for the Socceroos this month during their Asian Cup campaign, which should keep him busy but Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick was happy to take a breather.

"The break's a good thing for us," he said. "It will mean we will have a couple of strikers back at the end of it."

"Although it's only 14 rounds [in to the season] we've had a 19-week pre-season, it's probably ideal for us. The boys have now got eight days off. I'm heading to the Bay of Islands so I'm looking forward to a break."

The Phoenix will next play on Monday, February 2 when they meet the Roar in Brisbane. They will be a familiar foe considering the Phoenix beat the Roar 3-0 at Westpac Stadium yesterday as they sent Jeremy Brockie off in style.

Brockie nabbed a double in front of a season-best home crowd of 10,267 as he finished his time at the Phoenix with 23 goals in 58 games. He will link with SuperSport United in South Africa on a lucrative two-and-a-half-year deal.

The departing All White heaped praise on Merrick and said the Scot had instilled a winning mentality within the side that had contributed to their rise up the ladder.

"Ernie's been pretty big on playing the same style of football at home as what we do away and it's working for us," Brockie said.

With 13 games left in the season, Wellington can start to build towards securing their spot in the top four so they can enjoy home advantage in the playoffs.

"Now it's about staying in the four and I'll let the fans get excited about maybe where we could go but we will be realistic," Merrick said.

Wellington's next three home games will be played at the Hutt Recreation Ground in Lower Hutt because Westpac Stadium is unavailable due to the Cricket World Cup.

They meet Melbourne City on February 14, Newcastle eight days later and then host Adelaide on March 7 at the venue that will have a capacity of 9000.

"It will be a small intimate stadium with a fantastic atmosphere," Phoenix general manager David Dome said.