Popovic's brutal honesty enticed Nichols

Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic started out by telling potential new recruit Mitch Nichols a few home truths over the phone. Turned out it was what the former Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory player wanted to hear.

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The result so far is that Nichols has been the team's best player in the first two rounds and is now looking forward to getting his first taste of Sydney derby action at a packed-out Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.

Nichols didn't have a good time of it at the Cerezo Osaka club in Japan, where he wasn't picked to play very often and even less so in his best position, before returning to the A-League on loan to Perth last season.

But when the Wanderers came calling about this season, he immediately felt it was the right move for his career.

"I had a good conversation with 'Popa' on the phone," Nichols told The World Game. "He didn't really go too much into the style of play he was planning to use, it was more about him telling me a couple of home truths.

"I'd seen Scott Jamieson say before that Popa had spoken the same way to him and that he appreciated it and it's something I actually don't mind hearing either. You want to get better and improve and that was a good start.

"I knew what Popa was about before that. His teams have been extremely fit and it was something I looked the look of and thought would be good for me.

"Obviously this season the playing style is a bit different at the Wanderers and that appealed to me as well when I found out more about that.

"It's a lot more about keeping the ball and trying to dictate the style of the game and that's what I like to do and I feel like I've fitted in well so far."

Nichols at his best has always been able to put his stamp on a game, but his level of influence has gone up and down. At the Wanderers he has become a very influential player straight away in his midfield playmaking role and is keen to keep it that way.

"We've got a few boys who can play in the position I've been playing, but I had a good pre-season and got first shot at it and I've enjoyed it because a lot of the ball is coming through me and Romeo (Castelen) and we've struck up a good combination," he said.

"We're starting to get a few other players back from injury now and the foreign boys are fitting in well, so there are a lot of positives.

"Obviously it didn't pan out like I wanted it to in Japan and I had to weigh up what was in front of me and make an important decision about where I played this season.

"I want to put my best foot forward. I wanted to get back fit and I knew what the Wanderers were about and I could see Tony Popovic was a good coach, so I was looking forward to kick-starting my career again here.

"I grew up on the Gold Coast and I'm a pretty relaxed sort of person, so to have someone who's pushing me and not letting me take the foot off the pedal is what I need."

Nichols played in two Melbourne derbies while he was at Victory and loved the atmosphere at those games. He's ready for more of the same for Wanderers against Sydney FC.

"It should be a good experience," he said. "It's a derby and we want to get our first three points for the year and obviously do well for the fans. It's a big game for them and it's a sell-out crowd and it'll be a great atmosphere,

"It's a game we've had marked on the calendar since I came here, so I'm really looking forward to it.

"I'm not one who gets overawed too much, but it's going to be pretty fast and fiery at the start. Hopefully it will settle down after that and we can play our football and dictate the game and really give it a good shot at getting the win."