Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay wants to see an immediate bounce-back from his side's heavy 4-0 defeat to Newcastle Jets, lining up for a midweek clash on Tuesday.
Following the 4-0 loss in Newcastle on Friday - the heaviest of Talay's tenure in charge of the Phoenix - the A-League's only Kiwi side couldn't ask for arguably a better opportunity to return to winning ways.
As part of the Australian FFA Cup, Talay's Phoenix meet semi-professional side Avondale FC in the round of 16, with a quarter-final spot on the line.
Twice have the Phoenix met a semi-professional side in the FFA Cup, losing to Bentleigh Greens in 2018, and to Brisbane Strikers in 2019.
Victory on Tuesday would see the Phoenix into the FFA Cup's quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history.
What's more the clash could serve as vital gametime for the club before they return to their A-League campaign against Sydney FC this weekend.
"I think it's great that we've got a game tomorrow evening," Talay says. "Otherwise waiting for the Sydney game on Sunday would have been a very long week to get through.
"The great thing about football is we learn, we continue on, and we've got a game tomorrow where the players can go out there and redeem themselves.
"I want to see a lot more energy, a lot more intensity from Friday night. The players have an opportunity to redeem themselves with a short turnaround with a game tomorrow evening."
But if the Phoenix are to defeat Avondale on Tuesday, they'll have to do it without striker Gary Hooper, who's been granted a leave of absence to return to the UK for personal reasons.
That loss could serve as a chance for another player to step up though, Talay says, with youngsters Ben Waine, George Ott or Oskar van Hattum in line to come into the starting side.
"Hoops is a very influential player for us, he's scored a couple of goals for us," he adds.
"It's one of those things we have to deal with. We spoke with Gary, so there's something that had to be done.
"Fortunately, we've got players here that have an opportunity to step up."
