City star Tim Cahill hinted after the FFA Cup Final 1-0 triumph over Sydney FC many people would have prayed the club would fall at the final hurdle.

This season alone City signed the highest profile Socceroo, claimed its first piece of silverware and captain Bruno Fornaroli is in the race to win his second consecutive golden boot.

As City (2nd) have the wood over Victory (3rd) this season with a 4-1 win in Round 2 and a 2-0 win in the FFA Cup semi-final 10 days later, Broxham laughed off the idea that the table was turning on and off the field in Melbourne.

“I’ve learnt over my time to worry about ourselves and to keep all that external stuff external because it comes and goes every year almost,” Broxham said.

“Every time we lose to them, we’ve had a bad result and someone will come out and say the same sort of thing.

“As a club they (City) grow, that’s the targets they set, that’s what you want them to be doing in terms of the league.

“It’s not something players would worry themselves about. In terms of them, I don’t think you need any extra motivation going into a derby, if you personally can’t get yourself up for the game then you’re in the wrong game.”

However, Broxham did acknowledge one thing – a win in the derby would mean an early Christmas present for their fans.

“I think players realise how much it means it to the fans more and more as the games come, the more we play them, the way the derby develops,” he said.

“The players know how much it means to the fans, that’s one of the biggest things.

“Amongst players they get it really quickly and amongst fans it becomes bragging rights for the week once the game is finished.”

Broxham made it clear the only result the club was truly unhappy with this campaign was the 4-1 loss to City in Round 2.

Since then, the club has tightened up at the back and has conceded just one goal in the past four games.

Victory come off a 3-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers away, a job which was completed without star winger Marco Rojas who was out with a hamstring injury.

Broxham said the club now boasted depth after accumulating results without captain Carl Valeri, Mitch Austin, Daniel Georgievski and Nick Ansell.

And after the drama with Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi accusing City of being an over physical team, Broxham’s message was to get on with it.

“It’s something people are saying (City’s aggression), it’s part of the game and we have to be up for it,” Broxham said.

As a player I haven’t really come from a game thinking it was more physical than any others.

“Most games we play quite physical, teams come to Melbourne and they’re always up for it, always quite physical games.

“In Round 2 we’re obviously disappointed the way the game went from a lot of different angles whether it was the physicality and just in general the way the game went.

“We knew what to expect in the FFA Cup semi when we played them and it was a very physical game both ways and it’s not to say we can’t do it ourselves.”