Central Coast are full of confidence ahead of their A-League Men top-six clash against a Marko Rudan-less Western Sydney.
Despite surrendering their 12-game undefeated streak in a 3-1 loss to Sydney FC, Mark Jackson's charges are riding high heading into Sunday's encounter at Central Coast Stadium against the Wanderers.
The Mariners bounced back to victory earlier in the week when handing Phnom Penh Crown a 4-0 thrashing to charge towards an all-Australian AFC Cup Zonal final.
English striker Ryan Edmondson was the architect of the Cambodian Premier League club's undoing on Tuesday, scoring a second-half hat-trick after Jing Reec's opener.
Jackson said he had no doubts his side would return to their winning ways despite the three-day turnaround between their Sydney Blues loss and Phnom Penh victory.
"It's been a fantastic run (but) these things come to an end," Jackson said.
"Was it in the way we wanted it, particularly in the first half against Sydney, no, but there were lots of good aspects in the second half of that game.
"The key thing for us was bouncing back in the AFC Cup game and making sure we had a strong performance and a strong mentality.
"I knew the players would because we were really focused.
"We'll be ready for a really tough game against the Wanderers."
The Wanderers are also eager to shine after staring down the barrel of defeat in their last two fixtures.
Head coach Rudan unleashed a six-minute tirade against referees after losing 4-3 to Macarthur before his side narrowly avoided a 3-2 defeat to Newcastle thanks to an added-time equaliser from captain Marcelo.
Rudan will be absent from the coaches' box following a three-match suspension, one game suspended, by Football Australia for his rant.
The Wanderers will be hoping to start the game on their terms from the first whistle with the added advantage of knowing their opponents played midweek and could be fatigued.
Central Coast boast the best attack in the league scoring 32 goals across 17 games, but the Wanderers are hard to beat when they gain early momentum.
Western Sydney are the only team in the competition to have won every match when leading, doing so on seven occasions this season, and will be looking for an early goal.
