Brisbane sit four points adrift at the bottom of the A-League ladder with just one win and two draws from their 14 matches to date, but Italiano isn\u2019t paying any attention to their position on the table.
\u201cI\u2019ll give you an interesting stat,\u201d he told media before training on Wednesday. \u201cThey have almost double the highest shot ratio to any team in the A-League, which means they\u2019re actually one of the most dangerous teams.
\u201cWhere they\u2019re not effective is in terms of conversion rate and that could be inexperience, but the fact they\u2019ve got high creation output means that they\u2019re doing something right.
\u201cYou saw against Sydney they absolutely destroyed them in that first 60 minutes and scored four goals, so they have the potential to hurt any team.
\u201cIf you asked the coaching staff one team that we feared playing at the beginning of the year was Brisbane because they were doing so well in all of their games. They just couldn\u2019t capitalise.
\u201cWe give them a lot of respect and we\u2019re not going into the game thinking it\u2019s an easy game. Far from it. They\u2019re going to be a hard game and if we win it\u2019s going to be well-earned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/02\/Chief-3.jpg?w=1200\")
The Nix enter the round in 10th<\/sup> place, six points adrift of the top six. Young \u2018keeper Alby Kelly-Heald has been in goal for the past three matches and Italiano is impressed with how Josh Oluwayemi has responded to his demotion. Giancarlo Italiano is hoping to be able to call-on experienced fullback Tim Payne on Waitangi Day.
They\u2019re unbeaten in their past three matches and need another three points to remain in finals contention ahead of a tough run of four road matches in five weeks.
\u201cLook it\u2019d be great to win at home. Any successful team they make their home a fortress.
\u201cBut\u2026my focus now is game by game. I\u2019m not focusing on the top six or the four, I\u2019m literally just focusing on half to half [and] making sure we put in some good performances.
\u201cI think this refocus from the group as a collective has been very positive since Adelaide. I can see a real focus back in the group.
\u201cAgain, I don\u2019t want to talk about the [top] six because any talk about something that\u2019s in the future is going to create some anxiety and I don\u2019t want that.
\u201cI just want the prime focus on our performance and if we\u2019re good enough we\u2019ll make it. If we\u2019re not, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/02\/Alby-Kelly-Heald-3.jpg?w=1200\")
\u201cJoshy has been really good at training. He’s refocused and wanting to prove that he wants to be number one and given the opportunity again that he\u2019s ready for it.
\u201cThere\u2019s a healthy respect between all the goalkeepers and a good relationship with the goalkeeper coach as well.
\u201cAlby\u2019s been working very, very hard and Dublin [Boon], our third \u2018keeper, has been working very hard as well.
\u201cAny really good environment you need to have healthy competition for places. That drives competition and also a good understanding and respect for each other goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/02\/Tim-Payne-7.jpg?w=1200\")
Payne has been sidelined for the past four matches with a foot injury but has been cleared to feature against Brisbane.
\u201cProbably more a cameo role off the bench and just integrate him over the next couple of weeks and build his loads and make sure he\u2019s fit for the last stretch of games.\u201d
Club captain Alex Rufer hasn\u2019t featured this year because of illness and won\u2019t be returning \u201canytime soon\u201d, but he has resumed light training this week.
Brisbane Roar have been bolstered by the recent additions of centre back Austin Ludwik and Young Socceroos forward Nathan Amanatidis.
The round 18 Isuzu UTE A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Brisbane Roar is scheduled to kick-off at Sky Stadium in Wellington at 5pm Thursday and will be broadcast free-to-air on Sky Open, and LIVE on Sky Sport 1 in New Zealand and on Paramount+ in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n