And the Oskar goes to ...
Striker’s return could swing playoffs in Nix’s favour, says Wootton
The return of star striker Oskar Zawada is seen as a playoff game-changer by his team-mate whose job it is to stop goals being scored.
Wellington Phoenix centre back Scott Wootton said getting Zawada back from what was initially thought to be a season-ending thigh injury is set to make a massive difference for their A-League Men semifinal.
The Phoenix will play a two-leg affair against one of the victors from this weekend’s elimination matches after finishing the regular season in second spot, just two points behind defending champions Central Coast Mariners.
They will have this weekend off due to that top-two spot, giving Zawada further time to shift towards full fitness after being a late substitute in their final league games.
“That could be absolutely huge,” Wootton said of having full use of the player who netted 15 goals last season.
“You can’t forget the impact he’s had on this team – I think he's got the best goalsto-minutes ratio in the whole league ... to have him back, the boost that has given us as a squad of players is huge.
“I think him not being fit is the biggest reason why we just fell short this year. You put his goals into our current team and how we play, I think we would have won the league a month ago. I genuinely believe that.”
Wootton knows the pressure on the side will ramp up in the playoffs, but believes the players are capable of dealing with it.
“That’s what our job is – we’re paid to keep a cool head in these moments.
“I don’t think there’s any point in hiding away from the fact these are big games, high pressure ... we have to embrace that and enjoy that. This is the reason why we all play football as a kid, to be in these big moments that have such high stakes.
“We’ve got a really good team spirit, which is done by the manager [coach Giancarlo Italiano]. He allows and he encourages that.
“The biggest thing is the calmness of the manager and how that impacts the players. He allows the players to play with a freedom, both leading up to the game and in in-game situations.
“We’ve had plenty of games where we haven’t really started too well, or things haven’t quite gone to plan, but he’s just calm, he fixes what he needs to fix; there’s no rash, hasty decisions and the players feed off that, build off that.”
While Italiano gives the team a calm demeanour, Wootton’s hackles still rise when discussing how the Phoenix were written off before the season started. “I knew we’d always be in the top six. “Across in Australia, they had us coming last ... one, I thought it was very disrespectful to the playing group, and, two, I thought it was a shocking lack of knowledge ... I think it was lazy journalism.”
“You put his goals into our current team and how we play, I think we would have won the league a month ago.”
Scott Wootton on Oskar Zawada