Talay’s Phoenix are making

Wellington Phoenix’s upturn under Ufuk Talay has come as no surprise to his former mentor.

Sydney FC coach Steve Corica heaped praise on his former assistant after Saturday’s 2-2 draw between the A-league leaders and the sixth-placed Phoenix and said he wished he had stayed with the Sky Blues for longer.

‘‘He’s got a good football brain,’’ Corica said. ‘‘We worked together last year and I know what he’s like as a character as well – he’s a winner.

‘‘We’re a little bit different character-wise but similar in the way we want to play our football and winning, we both want to win. That shows in his team and I think it shows in our team as well.’’

Sydney went into Saturday’s match riding a six-game winning streak but were lucky to escape Westpac Stadium with a point, Steven Taylor’s own goal and Ulises Davila’s miss from pointblank range costing the Phoenix a deserved victory.

‘‘The main focus for me was we played some really good football against the league leaders and we played for three points. I’m very happy with the performance,’’ Talay said.

The new-look Phoenix made a slow start to Talay’s reign, losing their opening four games by onegoal margins, but are now unbeaten in six and have played some eye-catching football along the way.

Although they were tipped by many across the ditch to challenge for the wooden spoon, they are starting to look like genuine contenders, which is particularly remarkable given the raft of changes that occurred in the offseason, losing coach Mark Rudan and many of their best players including Johnny Warren medallist Roy Krishna and long-serving captain Andrew Durante.

‘‘He started slowly but you can see now they’re starting to play really well,’’ said Corica, who guided Sydney to the title last season. ‘‘I think he’s doing a good job.

‘‘They’ve got a very good chance to make the playoffs if they continue to play the way they are and picking up points. I have no doubt they’ll be in the top six.’’

Talay has set up the Phoenix in a similar system to the employed by Sydney, the two teams lining up in near-identical 4-2-2-2 formations on Saturday.

‘‘I’ve taken a lot from my learnings previously, not just from Sydney but previously where I’ve worked, with the under-20s and the coaches that I’ve worked under,’’ Talay said.

‘‘We play a certain style, close to Sydney but also we’ve adapted to the players we have.’’

Meanwhile, Talay confirmed the Phoenix will be training on

Christmas Day as they turn their attention to Saturday’s clash with Rudan’s third-place Western United in Ballarat.

‘‘We go there two days earlier because we have to fly to Melbourne and then catch a bus to Ballarat.

‘‘The way it worked out unfortunately for the players is they’ll train on Christmas morning, do their session and go home and