Barring the most unlikely of results in their last two home-and-away games, Western United will feature in the A-League finals for the first time.
United all but confirmed their spot in the top six on Wednesday night, defeating Perth Glory 2-0 at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney.
Head Coach Mark Rudan believes it’s a massive achievement for the club in its inaugural year.
“I think it’s a huge achievement for a new club,” Rudan told reporters during the post-game press conference.
“People don’t understand the amount of work that went on behind the scenes, first of all to create this football club.
“It’s one little step in our journey and there’s a lot more to go I feel.
“It’s a great forward in the first chapter of the history of this football club.”
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United can finish as high as third on the A-League table, meaning its potential finals opponent is still unknown.
But Rudan isn’t focused on trying to control who his side face in the finals and says more of the younger players will feature in the remaining regular season games.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of trying to dictate who we play in the finals. Everyone in the top six deserves to be there and they’re all good teams.
“I’ve got to be really smart in making sure we look after certain players.
“We’ve got a lot of young players waiting for their opportunity and I’ve got a lot of faith in them as well.
“You’ll see some new faces in the next two games.”
Western United continues their march towards finals this Saturday, August 15, against premiers Sydney FC.
Fans can watch the match on ABC, Fox Sports, Kayo or the MyFootball Live app.
