Newcastle Jets boss Rob Stanton hopes his vast experience at Sydney FC can mastermind a big upset of the Sky Blues on Friday night.
Stanton is in his debut season in charge of the Jets and will manage against his former side for the first time, after an eight-year stint as an assistant coach where he helped Sydney to two A-League Men titles.
His Jets have won just once in five outings to slump to 10th on the ALM table, most recently throwing away a 2-1 lead against Brisbane by conceding two late goals and losing 3-2.
Stanton won't place any extra weight on the clash with his former side, suggesting ninth-ranked Sydney were an extra dangerous prospect given their poor ladder position.
"It's still another game, all games are hard to win in the A-League," he told reporters.
"I'm looking forward to it, I spent eight years there and it was an area where I was able to grow as a coach. I wouldn't be able to be here today without spending time there.
"Sydney is obviously a tough game because they're a team that probably aren't performing as well as what they should be."
The Jets are embarking on a busy period that will see them play three games in eight days and they might already be feeling the fatigue after just a five-day break from their loss to the Roar.
Red-hot marksman Apostolos Stamatelopoulos struck his eighth goal of the campaign in the defeat, while in-form Sydney talent Joe Lolley will hope to mark a new two-year contract extension with another goal of his own.
Stanton said standards and belief weren't dropping within his side, who are just five points outside the top six with half a season left to play.
"There's plenty of belief in the team and that hasn't changed," he said.
"I can see by the way they're playing they're just disappointed, they've now got high expectations of themselves.
"You've got to meet those expectations and the only way to do that is you've got to train hard, you've got to prepare well, you've got to get the details right.
"The way they've played and the way they conduct themselves and prepare they've been top shelf and I think that's reflective of the playing group."
