Santalab predicts Wanderers will dish out a 'hiding' soon

Western Sydney Wanderers attacker Brendon Santalab has boldly declared that his side are shaping up to give an opposition team "a hiding" in the very near future.

Source: AAP

If "Santa" is right and there will be such a victim, whether it turns out to be Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium on Saturday night, remains to be seen.

But if all the Wanderers' players are feeling as good as him about the team's potential, then they certainly won't lack any confidence.

Santalab is bullish in the wake of the Wanderers winning for the first time this season, after seeing off Perth Glory 1-0 at home last Sunday, and he said they should have won more clearly.

"When you have a new squad and you're trying to gel, it's very difficult to pick up points along the way," Santalab said.

"We didn't do that in the first three weeks, so we were disappointed with ourselves.

"We were happy with our performances, but at the end of the day it's not about that, it's about points, and I think the win was well deserved.

"It probably should have been three or four (goals). We need to build on that now and convert chances.

"We're entering the opposition's box on a number of occasions throughout the 90 minutes, so, you know, someone's going to cop a hiding soon."

While the Wanderers only scored three goals in the first four rounds, Santalab was right when he said they are consistently getting into goal-scoring positions, where against Perth they had 18 shots to six and seven shots on target to nil.

Western Sydney's international marquee player Federico Piovaccari has misfired so far and their goals have been singles from Mitch Nichols, in the 3-1 loss to Brisbane Roar, Dario Vidosic (against Perth), and Andreu, in the 1-1 draw against Adelaide United. 

Santalab made his comeback from injury off the bench against Perth, replacing Piovaccari during the second-half.

He missed most of last season due to recurring shoulder problems and then sustained a quadriceps injury in the pre-season that delayed his start to the season proper.

There was a huge cheer from the crowd when Santalab came on and some of that may have been in favour of Piovaccari being subbed off, but most of it would have been in support of Santalab, who is recognised by the fans for his courage and commitment.

"It's great to be back. I've always had a lot of respect for our fans, they're the best in the A-League, and to get that reception was very special to me," Santalab said.

"I didn't expect that at all. I'm just one of the boys and every game we play, we play together, so there are no individuals, but I'm thankful to the fans for the cheer.

"It's been a tough road for me. I've had injury after injury since we won the Asian Champions League and every time I've worked really hard to come back and I think the fans appreciate that side of it, that I continue to bounce back."

Santalab is convinced the Wanderers will build on their win over Glory.

"We've got a great group of players at the moment and things are looking good after our first win," he said.

"We could see that coming in our performances over the first few rounds.

"Our foreigners are here for the first time in Australia and they're still adjusting to the A-League and it takes time, you know. Different culture, different language, three Spanish boys and an Italian, but we'll get there."

Santalab was injured against Glory when he slid and hit the goal-post while trying to connect with a cross, but fortunately it was only minor.

"I split my shin open when I hit the post. I didn't need stitches, I just had to get it cleaned up. What a way to start! I had shin pads on, but I still split it," Santalab said.

"I try to do what I do best when I come on and that's make it difficult for the defences that we play against.

"I went close to scoring and that would have made it a perfect comeback, but it wasn't to be. But a win's enough."