Soccer: Ifill wants boost from teammates

Injured striker Paul Ifill. Photo / Getty Images

Injured Wellington Phoenix soccer striker Paul Ifill has a message for his teammates as they head into the final stages of the A-League starting on Sunday with a critical home match against Perth Glory.

"Get us into the playoffs and give me a chance of playing again this season," Ifill said today.

The Barbados international has not played since mid-December after suffering leg and ankle injuries in the match against Newcastle Jets.

There are four rounds to the regular season left including this weekend's and the Phoenix are eighth in the standings, two spots from confirming a place in the top six playoffs.

Ifill admits his chances of pulling on a Phoenix playing strip again this season are slim at best given the severity of his injuries.

"When you are doing something like aqua jogging, which is totally boring, you need to focus elsewhere. I know my chances are slim but...you never know."

Ifill is much more positive about the team's chances of making the playoffs for the second successive season.

"I think we'll need to win our home games and pick up a couple of points away.

"We are strong at home and have some difficult away games coming up but we have been looking okay in the last few games. There is no reason why we can't make it."

Coach Ricki Herbert agrees with Ifill's assessment of the challenge facing his team but is also optimistic.

"With a bit of luck we could have got more than the one point we did from our last two away games.

"Our lack of success away from Westpac Stadium has been well documented but there have been some good signs recently."

The most encouraging of those signs was the performance the Phoenix turned in when beating Melbourne Victory in their last home game.

"That is the level we have to aim for in our remaining games. We started in the same vein in the two away games following that win and with a little luck could have got the breakthrough early on.

"If you can get an early goal it lifts everyone and that is what we will be looking for against Perth."

After a run of injuries and suspensions meant a changed squad week by week, Herbert has had the luxury of a settled squad for the past three games and has named an unchanged squad with the addition of Argentinian attacking midfielder Oscar Roberto Cornejo as cover for New Zealand international Leo Bertos who has a groin problem that is being managed on a week to week basis by the club's medical team led by physiotherapist Adam Crump.

Wellington Phoenix squad: Danny Vukovic, Troy Hearfield, Andrew Durante (captain), Ben Sigmund, Tony Lochhead, Manny Muscat, Vince Lia, Tim Brown, Nicky Ward, Leo Bertos, Marco Rojas, Dylan Macallister, Chris Greenacre, Daniel Cortes, Oscar Roberto Cornejo, Reece Crowther.

- NZPA