Soccer: Nevin dares to dream but aims to keep team's feet on ground

There's a long way to go, but the Knights have unquestionably hit the new season running.

The job when they face unbeaten Melbourne Victory at North Harbour Stadium tomorrow for what they believe will be their toughest A-League assignment so far is to prove their maiden home win was no fluke.

The Knights have had a draw and win at home so far and, as a result, quickly put behind them grim memories of the 2005-2006 campaign when they were rooted to the foot of the table from the start and finished with just one win from 21 games.

Malik Buari's sensational goal to beat Adelaide United last weekend has given the Knights the ideal early-season fillip but manager Paul Nevin is confident his players won't get ahead of themselves.

"The players know that win meant a lot to the club," Nevin said. "We've said, 'great weekend, well done, but that's what you're paid to do'.

"My job and [assistant] Kevin O'Leary's job is to get their feet back on the ground, and that's not difficult with this group."

Nevin acknowledged there has been plenty to work on this week. "Sometimes you get clouded in your analysis after a win like that. The biggest thing is for it to not be an anti-climax and then be flat this weekend. We're on a high, and that makes the challenge even harder for us."

He has named an unchanged 16 for tomorrow, with striker Dani Rodrigues, defender Matt Carbon and versatile Noah Hickey all still recovering from injuries.

Nevin said the campaign had been broken into workable chunks rather than one big picture but preferred to keep specific points targets to himself. "The goals we set have to be attainable and realistic. So we're working towards the mini goals to fulfill the big objective for the end of the season," he said.

Melbourne have won both their games so far, 2-0 over pre-season cup winners Adelaide and 3-2 against last season's champions Sydney in front of a bumper 39,000 crowd.

But that came at a cost, with one of their three Brazilians, Fred, bounced out for three games for violent conduct - the heaviest suspension imposed in the A League - and another, Alessandro, in doubt with a hip injury, leaving Claudinho as the sole fit, eligible South American.

"They've got a rock-solid defence and they're prepared to drop numbers back to make it difficult for you to score," Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick said of the Knights. Last year, that's not something you'd have heard out of visiting managers mouths. Times are changing for the Knights.

There won't be 39,000 at North Harbour Stadium tomorrow, but the Knights have laid down a marker. Maintain their standards and, to paraphrase Kevin Costner's Field of Dreams, the fans will come.

Knights v Melbourne
North Harbour Stadium, 12.30pm tomorrow

NZ Knights: Danny Milosevic, Darren Bazeley, Greg Duruz, Che Bunce, Neil Emblen, Richard Johnson, Scott Gemmill, Sean Devine, Jonti Richter, Jonas Salley, Malik Buari, Adam Casey, Michael White, Sime Kovacevic, Michael Turnbull