KEY POINTS:
New Year celebrations out of the way, the Knights were back at work yesterday with coach Ricki Herbert quickly reminding them of their hectic schedule over the next 10 days.
Buoyed by their stunning win over Queensland Roar - and it was not so much the 3-1 scoreline as the manner in which they played - the Knights now look ahead to Sunday's away clash with Sydney FC.
The defending Hyundai A-League champions stretched their unbeaten run to nine with the 2-0 away win over Newcastle Jets on Monday and will take that confidence into their Aussie Stadium clash with the Knights. Adding spice to Sydney's remaining games is the decision by Federation Football Australia to dock them three points and fine them A$129,000 ($145,000) for salary cap breaches.
Sydney remain in second place going into this week's 19th round.
Herbert is aware that Sydney will be hurting from the loss of points and sees them as a vastly different proposition than Queensland.
"It is going to be tough for sure," said Herbert after putting the Knights through a fitness session and then some more conventional work yesterday. "They have strength in the midfield especially going forward but, having said that, we are unlikely to change too much."
While Greg Duruz and Adam Casey have been ruled out and put on the four-week stand-down list, Herbert said he is in no hurry to bring other players in hinting there are unlikely to be changes to the starting XI.
The Knights will remain in Australia, travelling to Gosford on Monday to prepare for Thursday's game against Central Coast Mariners.
The 19th round kicks off tomorrow night with Adelaide at home to Queensland with victory to the home side almost certainly assuring them of a top-four finish.
In the key match of the round, Newcastle are at home to Central Coast on Friday. Both teams have 23 points and share fourth place - a point ahead of Queensland.
In the other Sunday game, Perth are at home to already crowned minor premiers Melbourne Victory.
