Melbourne Victory captain Mark Milligan believes their trip to Hobart came at the perfect time, as his side step up their workload in a bid to impact the A-League this season.
Victory will take on rivals Sydney FC in an exhibition match on Sunday afternoon in Tasmania as they prepare for an opening round clash against Western Sydney Wanderers on October 15, and Milligan feels it is a good time to solidify the progress of the clubs new signings, as well as the foundations laid by coach Kevin Muscat in the pre-season.
“We’ve had a few new boys come in over the last week or two and it’s a good chance for us to get together – they can learn the ways of the team and we can get to know them,” Milligan said.
“You’ve got to try and get as much information and fitness into them as quickly as possible because we are so close so the timing is very good.”
After an impressive pre-season streak of nine wins from nine matches played, Milligan sees the trip south as a chance to fine-tune the minor details ahead of the season.
“We’ve been building well so far, we’ve had a couple of A-League [opponents] as well as FFA Cup and we’ve been working very hard away from games and I think it’s been showing in the way that we’ve been doing things on the pitch,” the captain said.
“We have another big match on Sunday which is another chance for us to get the little things right.”
With five new signings arriving at the club in the off-season, Milligan sees the experience of Matthieu Delpierre as a particular benefit to the squad.
“The experience that Delpierre has brought is fantastic for us.
“He’s been at a lot of big clubs over his time and he’s still quite young.
“I think he’ll bring a lot to us this year and in the years to come, but I think the same goes for Daniel [Georgievski] and [Khalfallah] as well.”
Melbourne Victory head coach Kevin Muscat also expressed his delight at his sides return to Tasmania, but has emphasised the importance of the final major hit out of the pre-season.
“The fact that we decided to come here and it’s our last real hit out against A-League opposition suggests that we take it seriously coming down here,” Muscat said.
“It’s the final chance for us to take a step in the right direction and preseason we’ve been relatively pleased with the way we’ve been going and progressing.
Melbourne Victory will take on Sydney FC at North Hobart Oval on Sunday, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm.