Must win: Sydney FC coach Frank Farina. Credit:Getty Images Speaking at training on Wednesday, Farina said he still hadn’t talked to the club’s board about staying on next season. “Not at this stage,” he admitted. “We’ve really focused on the last six to eight weeks and we’re on a decent roll of results at the moment and I think that can be confidence building going into these games.” Farina concedes the size of the club will always mean whoever is in his position will be under pressure unless they deliver championships. “We all know Sydney, from day one, were announced as the 'bling' club, and that’s most probably stuck in the past nine years,” he said. “It’s a big club with big expectations and more media scrutiny from television and newspapers, probably more than most other clubs. It’s just the pressure that goes with being at this club.”

But Farina says he can’t worry about the speculation that swirls around his tenure, something that has remained since the day he was appointed. “It is a game we love at the end of the day, and being in a high-profile position comes with scrutiny, both good and negative," he said. "If you dwell on either of those areas, it can affect you. I just put it behind us and say let’s move on. Every week is a different week and different pressures come along with it.” While a bad loss on Friday would probably end his tenure, a win would at least give Farina a fighting chance of retaining his job. And given Sydney’s record against the Victory this season, Farina has every right to be confident – not that he’s opting to extract much from the past. “It’s nice to have that, but it won’t count for anything on Friday," he said. "It’s a new mentality, a new pressure that both teams will be under.

“It’s not so much forgotten, but it’s a different ball game. It’s basically cup football now and there’s no draws involved, it’s got to be results. It’s a different pressure. What’s happened throughout the season is gone. It’s a new competition now.” Victory have looked scintillating in their past two matches, shredding Wellington 4-1 away from home and then backing up with a 2-0 win over Asia’s richest club, Guangzhou Evergrande, in the Asian Champions League on Tuesday night. While the Victory's schedule has been busy, Farina feels they won’t be fatigued come Friday night. “I think Kevin [Muscat] rested five or six players from the Wellington game," Farina said. "They’ve got the depth there in terms of fit players to play 90 minutes. “I think it’s a great confidence boost for them as well, to have such a great result. But I think they had one eye on Friday night.”

Knowing Victory’s penchant for attacking football, Sydney will be aiming to keep their chances limited, especially early. “I’m expecting them to come out all guns blazing in the first 15 to 20 minutes,” Farina said. “We’ve not only got to survive that but hopefully put pressure on ourselves and if we can score first, it’s an advantage.” Loading Farina said he had close to a full squad to choose from and would be monitoring striker Ranko Despotovic closely as he recovers from a knee injury. “He’ll travel with us; we’ll see how he goes in training today and in our last session tomorrow,” he said. “It will be pretty much the same squad as last week.”