Hoole ready for Mariners fight

The last thing Sydney FC plan to let the Mariners do is dictate how the Sky Blues play when the two teams meet at Central Coast Stadium.

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"They like to play a different brand of football to most other teams, but we're trying to concentrate on ourselves as much as possible and trying to play our brand of football and not worrying about the opposition too much," Sydney attacker Andrew Hoole said.

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold said on Thursday that the all-out attacking style of play the Mariners employ is exciting and that he loves watching it. Arnold described it as "a beautiful, proactive style of play that I’m enjoying immensely".

Arnold added: "We watched them play Melbourne City and looked at the way they played. We'll go straight back at them, it’s the only way to play them and their style."

But that sounds like Arnold playing mind games again, inviting the Mariners to come at Sydney in the belief that if his team remain patient they will be able to take advantage when they get turnovers.

Arnold is trying to make Sydney a rock in defence and is hardly likely to want his team to get involved in a wild west shoot-out for goals that could bring them undone if they're not on target and the Mariners are.

From the way Hoole is talking, Sydney fancies the chances of its usual style of play getting the better of the opposition by waiting for them to make mistakes before pouncing.

"It's hard to say how the game will be played until we actually get into it, but we have to worry about what we have to do," Hoole said. "Each team's style is different, but all we're worried about is concentrating on our style.

"We've got a structure that we like to use and the Mariners will be out there to try to stop that, but we're out to focus on our game and going out there to play the way we like to play.

"Sometimes you have to change the way you're playing midway through a game, but if things are going well you keep playing the way you are. We're mainly about concentrating on the way we want to play, which is an exciting brand of football.

Sydney has only conceded one goal in three games so far this season.

Last season, the Sky Blues recorded the most clean sheets in the competition - nine - but there were too many other games in which they lapsed and conceded three or more goals.

Arnold is trying to make his team as miserly in defence as the Mariners were when he coached them to the A-League championship in season 2012-13.

Sydney will be primed to take advantage whenever the Mariners slip up and turn the ball over, but they won't want to take many risks in defence.