Phoenix are home to Newcastle Jets this Sunday and follow that with a trip across the Tasman and the Nullarbor to in-form Perth.

But after that mammoth trip, the following six out of eight Phoenix games will be at home, which is good news for a side with such a fearsome reputation on Kiwi soil.

“We win our home games… and our home record speaks for itself,” Durante told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“If anyone thinks we’re going to be walkovers then they’re kidding themselves. We’re confident, we’ve got such a great group of players.

“Since we joined the league we’ve been tipped to come last every single year. It’s something we’ve dealt with and something that doesn’t bother us at all.”

However, injury has bedeviled Phoenix in recent times with Aussies Lucas Pantelis, Mirjan Pavlovic and Vince Lia all out for varying periods of time due to injury.

And under injury clouds for this Sunday’s clash with the buoyant Jets are Kiwi World Cup hero Mark Paston and go-to striker Paul Ifill.

What’s more, with a backdrop of an eventful off-season at board level resulting in new owners taking over the club, the pundits in the media have largely written off the Kiwi side.

But an encouraging 1-1 draw against Gold Coast in last week’s opening A-League round has lifted spirits in the camp - even if there is doom and gloom across the Tasman about the team’s chances this season.

“I think sometimes all this negativity around the football club and sometimes with the media brings us closer together and we want to prove people wrong,” added Durante.

Wellington play the Jets on the same day as the Rugby World Cup clash between the All-Blacks and the Wallabies. It’s tough for the A-League to enjoy the “clear air space” in the New Zealand media like in Australia.

“Obviously the Rugby World Cup is filling up the papers at the moment but we’re in there every now and then, but it’s definitely less than the hype that the club deserves,” he said.

And Durante pointed to new signings such as Dani Sanchez as adding something different to the Phoenix midfield while a group of players who’ve exceeded expectations and reached the finals in recent seasons remain at the club.

He added: “We’ve kept the core, we’ve got quality. In this league you don’t need big names just a good team in a good environment.”