Wellington Phoenix are treating their last four A-League regular season games as must-win, if they hope to secure a home elimination playoff.
After an anticlimactic 4-0 loss to Central Coast Mariners, the Phoenix are fifth on the A-League ladder, one point behind Adelaide United with a game in hand.
But while a top-six finish would see the Phoenix return to the A-League finals for the first time since 2020, breaking into the top four would mean an playoff fixture at Wellington's Sky Stadium.
With COVID-19 limiting them to just two matches in the capital over the past two seasons, another home game is all the motivation they need for the rest of the season, says attacking midfielder Reno Piscopo.
"We're very confident, we hope we can make [the] top four and play a couple of games back home again," Piscopo said.
"We've missed out on that all year, so that's what we want. We want to play in front of our home fans in Wellington and we're looking forward to it."
That quest for playoff football begins on Sunday, when the Phoenix travel to Auckland to face 10th-place Western Sydney Wanderers at Eden Park.
Anything less than a win would keep the Phoenix in fifth on goal difference, as the side target four victories to finish the regular season as high up the table as possible.
"We want the three points," Piscopo added. "This week's like a final for us and we're hungry to win.
"Every game is a must-win, we want to make top six. We go into every game [thinking] we have to win."
After Western Sydney in Auckland, the Phoenix return to Australia to face Melbourne Victory, Wanderers again and Melbourne City to finish their season.
For Piscopo, the last four regular season games and any potential playoffs may represent his last in Phoenix colours.
The 23-year-old has been with the Wellington club since 2019, but is off contract at the end of this season.
And after spending his youth career in Italy with Inter Milan and Torino, Piscopo concedes his future may lie abroad, but isn't thinking about his next contract, yet.
"At the moment, I'm just focussing on this year. I want to finish off the season, make top six, do good with Wellington and I'm not too sure [after that].
"Of course, I want to go back overseas, that's the main goal. Like I said, at the end of the season, we'll see what happens and take it from there."
