Josh Mitchell says he is looking forward to returning to his old stomping ground when the Jets face Perth Glory on Saturday.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets defender Josh Mitchell says he is looking forward to returning to his old stomping ground at nib Stadium when the Jets face Perth Glory on Saturday night.
Mitchell spent two seasons at the Glory before moving back to his hometown Club in Newcastle during the off-season.
“It-s going to be good to play in front of the Shed again and some friends over there,” he said.
“It-ll be good to see a lot of my old teammates over there, but hopefully even better if we win.”
Mitchell said the Jets- best chance of getting a result against Perth is to ensure they match the Glory-s desire and willingness to get stuck in.
“They-ve got a strong, physical side with plenty of good players, but if we worry about ourselves and go out there and play the high intensity pressing game that we-ve done before, we-ll make it really difficult for them,” he said.
“If we give them time and space they-ll punish us. If we get in their face and make a good battle out of it, it becomes an even game.
“I know through playing with them what they like and what they don-t like. What they don-t like is teams who come to them and really take it to them.”
As one of a number of fresh faces in the Jets squad for 2012/13, Mitchell said he isn-t too concerned with Newcastle-s poor record in Western Australia.
“I don-t know too much about the history of the Jets in Perth, but I know they haven-t done too well,” he said.
“I think it-s more a mental thing. You just have to go out there with the same attitude as any other game.
“The time difference and all that doesn-t really matter in my opinion. You probably just have to concentrate a little bit more and not be worried about any of the other changing conditions that we deal with.”
Mitchell was critical of his own performance following the Jets- 2-1 win over Melbourne last Friday night, but said he-d worked hard at training this week to ensure he was back to his best against Perth.
“I-ll be looking to do better. I-m not really sure why I didn-t play so well, I-m just putting it down to being one of those bad games,” he said.
“Now I-ve got to concentrate on performing better this week and in the coming weeks.
“I-m sure I-ll be fine, having a bad 45 minutes isn-t the end of the world but I just want to set higher standards for myself so hopefully I can push forward and play well in Perth this week.”
Another Jets player who is a chance of making a return to Perth this weekend is Mitchell-s former Glory teammate Scott Neville. Neville completed full training sessions on both Monday and Tuesday after missing last Friday-s match with a groin problem.
“Scott-s been training well so I-m sure he-s in contention for selection,” Mitchell said.
“I-d say he-s looking forward to going home because he has a lot of friends and family in Perth and he was very much loved by the fans. Hopefully he puts in a good performance for us.”
