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Travel-weary Central Coast will be forced to swap hot water bottles for ice vests when they take on A-League rivals Perth Glory in boiling conditions on Sunday.
The Mariners did well to withstand freezing temperatures in their scoreless Asian Champions League draw against Tianjin Teda in China on Wednesday night.
But with a 40C scorcher forecast for Perth on Sunday, Central Coast’s mettle will again be stretched to the limit in a game that will kick off at 4.30pm local time.
The Glory are well adapted to the conditions, and will attempt to turn the hot weather into a major advantage.
“I think they came from minus and they’re going to come into scorching heat. It’s going to be a tough game,” Perth coach Ian Ferguson said.
“Let’s try to take the game to the Mariners.”
Despite posting just one win from their past six A-League fixtures, the ladder-leading Mariners remain in the box seat to secure the minor premiership.
Perth are desperate to lock in a top-four berth, but Ferguson knows his team must close the gap on pacesetters Central Coast and Brisbane if they are to do any major damage come finals.
“Against the top two this year we’ve taken one point out of a possible 18, and that’s not good enough,” Ferguson said.
“We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
“I don’t feel as though we’re at that level of Mariners and Brisbane.
“That’s what I want to strive to and that’s what I want to bring the club up to, but it’s not done overnight.”
The Glory will again be without midfielder Liam Miller (hamstring), but star striker Shane Smeltz is on track to return from an ankle injury.
Ferguson said he expected a tough showing from the Mariners despite their hectic travel schedule and contrasting climates of late.
“I watched them this week in Asia and I thought they did a fantastic job,” he said.
“They stick to the same principles, same system, same personnel.
“Even though they’ve got these travels they’re a very good team and they’re at the top of the league for a reason.
“They’ve got good depth as well and they’ve got good players they can bring in.”
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