Phoenix to stay put in NSW
Wellington Phoenix will play all of their remaining A-League games in New South Wales in order to reduce travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, the club has confirmed.
The entire 24-man squad left for Australia yesterday, including Louis Fenton, who is out with a season-ending injury, and uncontracted players Sam Sutton and Zac Jones.
They were to begin 14 days of quarantine as soon as they touched down in Sydney yesterday but have been granted permission from state health officials to train together at a remote facility where they will be isolated from the general public.
In the original A-League schedule, the Phoenix were due to play Perth Glory away on April 12.
Their home games against Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar will now be played in Sydney but the exact venue is yet to be confirmed.
A revised A-League draw was set to be released by Football Federation Australia yesterday. It will see teams playing every three days in an attempt to get through the remaining fixtures as soon as possible.
According to Phoenix general manager David Dome, all A-League games will be played in central hubs in NSW and Victoria.
‘‘The current plan is to play multiple games per week now, which is very much what happens in the England Championship. We will potentially be playing two-three games in a seven day window to get us through to the end of the season,’’ Dome said.
‘‘Under normal circumstances that would not be an acceptable solution but all the clubs realise that we have to play a number of games to try and complete the A-League season as soon as possible.
‘‘It’s not my place to release the draw but there are plans in place to base the A-League out of two hubs being Melbourne and Sydney.’’
Defender Luke DeVere assisted his pregnant wife back home to Brisbane on Monday and will link up with his team-mates when they arrive in Sydney.
Dome said the club had received buy-in from the entire playing squad, including Fenton, who is no chance of playing due to injury.
‘‘The club is still very keen to complete the A-League season, the players feel there is a sense of unfinished business,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve met internally a number of times to canvas the willingness to complete the season in Australia and there was universal acceptance that they want to carry on and complete the season if at all possible.
‘‘Even non-playing players wanted to go with the team as well. That shows the unity in the team that every player wants to be a part of it because there is something special about this group, there’s no doubt about it.
‘‘You can see by the form and the way they’re playing. There’s not a single team that Wellington Phoenix are afraid of now and we back ourselves to go back and beat anybody.’’
Melbourne Victory have also commenced 14 days of isolation after missing the Sunday midnight deadline while flying back from Wellington but Dome revealed Victory players were unable to train together.
Although the A-League is vowing to play on despite widespread cancellations in other codes, Dome conceded there would be ‘‘significant pressure’’ to suspend the league if a player tested positive for Covid-19.
The Phoenix will relocate to a Sydney hotel as soon as they complete their two weeks in quarantine. Their next game is likely to take place on April 4.