A high-flying Murray United outfit will be out to stretch its unbeaten streak to seven matches when it faces NPL 2 west leaders Northcote City at La Trobe University on Saturday.
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United return home after three straight games on the road for what coach James Coutts believes will be his side’s toughest assignment thus far.
“They're a very strong side and are up there with Dandenong Thunder as the two best sides I've seen this season,” Coutts said.
“We know we've got a massive challenge on our hands this weekend.
“They have a very good coach who has been around for a while and have recruited very well.
“We're looking to capitalise on the weaknesses I saw and hopefully we can get ourselves up to cause a bit of an upset, because they're flying at the moment.”
Coutts said it has been the consistency of the 12 or 13 players he has been able to choose from that has got the club in its best ever position this season.
“We said at the beginning of the year that there were players coming into the fold that hadn't a pre-season behind them or hadn't played together, so now we're starting to play and gel as a group, we believed the results would follow,” he said.
“With the way the boys train and conduct themselves, for me it's no surprise how we're playing and the results are following.
“People here from the start will know it hasn't always been like that, so to now have that confidence and belief going into every game and expecting to get results, it's a great feeling to have.”
Despite United’s rapid climb up the league table, Coutts was quick to dismiss any thoughts of pushing for promotion into the NPL.
Coutts also revealed the club has been exploring plenty options for a new Visa signing, with the success of the club and the new profile it has established with the signing of Archie Thompson helping the cause.
But Coutts stressed he wouldn’t bring in an overseas player just for the sake of having one, they would need to be the right fit.
“There's certainly interest from people coming over, however, selecting the right ones is the most difficult challenge,” he said.
“When you're bottom of the ladder, year in, year out and you're in Albury, people don't want to come up here from Melbourne in particular.
“Now we're doing quite well, we're playing well, Archie is here which is an attraction to people.
“At the moment, I'm very happy with the squad and how we're working and the lads who have come into the fold from the under 20s are doing really well.”
Someone that has been around since the start and experienced the challenges faced by the club is former captain Ryan Giles.
The key defender is delighted to now be seeing the benefits of all the hard work from the past two-and-a-half years.
“The new signings we've brought in this year in key positions are starting to find their feet and they're comfortable now,” Giles said.
“Training is fun, everyone is enjoying training and each other's company at the minute, which is nice.
“I think everyone is excited to be playing back at home and I hope the community is excited to come out and see us now that we're on this good run and Archie is banging in some goals.”