Melbourne Heart marquee man Orlando Engelaar believes the team is feeling good after its record breaking 5-0 win over Wellington, but is still wary of the upcoming challenge against Brisbane Roar this weekend.
Finally free from injury and suspension, the giant Dutchman helped Heart win their first away game in 23 attempts, opening the scoring with a thunderbolt that left Phoenix goalkeeper Glen Moss rooted to his spot.
“[The mood around the club] is pretty good. Had a good win on the weekend so yeah, everybody feels good,” he said.
“There’s not that many teams winning away at Wellington. It’s a hard game to play.”
When asked about the club’s current form, Engelaar emphasised the importance of staying confident and keeping faith even with the downturn in form.
“That’s football. Everyday can be different,” he said.
“It’s just a matter of stay[ing] confident and believe in yourself and you always know that things can turn around in football.”
Despite Heart’s current unbeaten run, the defensive midfielder played down the upcoming game against Brisbane Roar, remaining cautious of the league leaders.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to win on the weekend,” he said.
“You never know. We feel good now but it doesn’t give any guarantees for the next game.”
He also refused to be drawn into discussions about finals football, stating that the players were not getting ahead of themselves.
“It’s too far away. We’ve had a few good results, we’re playing better, but we’re still bottom,” he said.
“So we just keep on taking it week by week.
“Its good to give the crowd something back. There’s been a lot of people that kept on coming every week even though we lost.”
Engelaar said he was enjoying his to return football after a long injury layoff and recent suspension, made all the sweeter with his wonder goal on the weekend.
“It feels great to be back and just doing what I’ve always loved to do,” he said.
“It’s always good to score a goal… especially if it’s the first one. It’s always important in an away game to get ahead.”
Despite Sunday’s clash being a top versus bottom encounter, many pundits are expecting a close game, with the rampaging Heart looking to extend their run against a Brisbane side that lost their third game this season to bogey side Newcastle Jets.