Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold says he will not let the looming blockbuster and top-of-the-table clash against Melbourne Victory distract his team from Friday night's match with Adelaide United.
The Australia Day battle against Victory is shaping as an enthralling tussle between the two best attacks in the league, but Arnold says the match is not even on his side's radar.
"[Victory coach] Kevin Muscat is doing what he's doing down there and they've got their challenges this week," Arnold said.
"We don't even look at what they're doing. We've got them next Thursday; after the Adelaide game, at 10.30 on Friday night, then I'll start focusing on Melbourne Victory."
Unhappy: Graham Arnold believes his team still has plenty of room for improvement.Credit:Getty Images
Victory suffered a shock 3-0 loss to Wellington on Tuesday night and sit five points behind the Sky Blues on the ladder. Muscat's men must now make the 5000-plus-kilometre journey to Perth, where they face the Glory on Saturday night.
Despite sitting on top of the table, Arnold is still not entirely happy with his team's performances of late. Speaking on Wednesday, Arnold identified set pieces and the final pass as two key areas his team must work on if they are to continue their unbeaten run.
"Our set pieces this year, I think we've only scored two goals off set pieces," Arnold said. "We've conceded two goals against the Mariners, they were both from set pieces, one defensively and one when we were on the attack – we took a corner and got beat in transition – so we're working on that and we're working on our final pass.
"Our final ball let us down [in the derby]. We had 44 entries into the Wanderers' penalty box and we need to make better use of that, and that's what we've been working on this week and we'll get better and better at it."
Despite struggling for much of the season, Adelaide are coming off a 2-1 victory over Melbourne City last weekend, and Arnold is conscious of shutting down the Reds' strikers before they get into a rhythm.
"One thing we definitely want is to put a lot of pressure on Adelaide – if we give them time on the ball and let them play, they've got players that can play themselves into the game, and that's what the intention will be, not to let that happen," Arnold said.
"With that comes a lot of intensity. We're working a lot on our pressing this week and making sure that we're ready to do that in the front half of the field and capitalise."