Western United confident of a strong season despite being ‘written off’

Western United is ignoring ‘outside noise’ in the A-League club’s bid to prove its doubters wrong.

Western United midfielder Angus Thurgate says his team is playing with the luxury of “no pressure” after being dismissed as an A-League title contender.

Having secured a valuable point in a 1-1 away draw with Wellington Phoenix last weekend, United will welcome Juan Mata’s Western Sydney Wanderers to Ironbark Fields on Sunday.

“It’s great to have a player of his calibre in the A-League,” Thurgate said of the former Manchester United and Chelsea star Mata.

“Everyone’s watched him in the Premier League. It’s good for us as well to test ourselves against one of the best players in the world, but we won’t be focusing too much on that.

“We’ll be focusing on ourselves and doing what we know we can to get three points.”

It’s an internal focus United has had all pre-season as they attempt to lift themselves up the ladder after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign.

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“We’re aiming to be at the top,” Thurgate said.

“A few boys saw some of the predictions before the season that had us written off. We know a lot of people have written us off, so bring it on really. There’s no pressure on us to perform.

“We know when we’re on as a team, we can match it and perform against anyone in the A-League.

“There’s a real focus inside our change room not to listen to any outside noise, and focus on improving every day.”

Thurgate scored United’s goal in Wellington, taking his second-half opportunity well to equalise for the visitors.

“It’s always nice to get off the mark early, and it’s always nice to get myself into positions more to give myself a chance to score,” he said.

“I’ve got other roles on the field but it’s always nice to contribute further forward, and I’d love to score as many goals as I can.”

Thurgate said the draw was a “good building block” for United.

“The fightback we showed in the second-half is testament to our character and the culture we want to build,” he said.

“We got young guys who are willing to learn and work hard. It’s just about helping them through games and managing situations they wouldn’t have previously been exposed to.

“We’ve got a good mix of youth and experience.”

United captain Ben Garuccio will miss a second successive match because of a groin injury.

“He’s such an integral part of our team so it’s a tough one to take, but we’ve got that next-man up mentality.”