Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque wants his side to strike a psychological blow on FFA Cup Final adversary Adelaide United by inflicting a home loss on the Reds in Friday's A-League season opener.
The two clubs will meet at the same Coopers Stadium venue on Oct. 30, when Sydney will endeavour to become the first club to go back-to-back in the FFA Cup.
"Definitely this is is a big game on many fronts," Brosque said.
"This is round one, you want to start the season off well, you want to get the three points.
"But looking towards the final as well, we can send a bit of a message to them.
"If we were to put a dominant performance, beat them down there in front of their own crowd, psychologically that can do a lot to to them heading into the final."
While content to be a role player in Sydney's star-studded squad, 35-year-old Brosque acknowledged he would probably get more early season minutes than he was expecting, with Trent Buhagiar injured and Daniel De Silva coming back from a hamstring issue.
"I came into the season with a certain frame of mind and that's been changed very very quickly with a couple of injuries," Brosque said.
While Brosque contemplated retiring after last season, he wanted to ensure continuity after the departure of hugely successful coach Graham Arnold.
"Obviously what Arnie did at the club has been fantastic, but I wanted the players to get the same sort of credit, they did so much to achieve all the records that they achieved in the last two years," Brosque said.
"So I wanted to hang around and make sure that everything continued, that it didn't fall away. Just because now Arnie has gone and we've lost the coach and a couple of players, I didn't think that was a reason that everything should implode on the playing field."
While Bobo and Adrian Mierzejewski have left, Brosque was adamant replacements Adam Le Fondre and Siem de Jong would more than fill the holes.
"I am confident with Alfie [Le Fondre] up front we lose nothing at all, he's got a great eye for goal," Brosque said.
"Siem is all class.
"I think that this year we have more depth than we have ever had, which can only be a good thing."