Central Coast Mariners coach joked: "Obviously they have John Aloisi, who scored at the weekend, which I’m happy about, because stats always come back to bite us.

"I’m glad that he has now scored and I’m sure he’ll end up scoring a lot of goals for the club."

The Mariners have called in the cavalry for the trip to Sydney Football Stadium, with all but three senior squad members included in an extended 21-man squad.

Nigel Boogaard, Andrew Clark and Mile Jedinak, each of whom missed last Friday’s derby triumph over the Newcastle Jets at Bluetongue Stadium, will be given every possible chance to prove their fitness, while short-term signings Andrea Merenda and Chris Tadrosse have also been included.

Midfielder Greg Owens makes his first season four appearance in the Mariners’ squad after two starts and one substitute appearance in the National Youth League.

McKinna said: "The mood in the camp is always good after a win, especially after a win against the Jets.

"The big thing is that we deserved to win last Friday, we put the Jets under a lot of pressure in the first half and defended very well and limited their goal scoring chances.

"We now have to continue that good form and take it into the Sydney game this week."

Saturday’s match at the Sydney Football Stadium will see the continuance of a Hyundai A-League rivalry that has delivered some of the truly epic encounters in Hyundai A-League history with goals aplenty.

"Hopefully we’re scoring goals on Saturday but not conceding any," he said.

"Whenever we play Sydney, both teams just have a go at each other, whoever goes down first just starts throwing men forward – it’s a derby atmosphere and always a good crowd, which makes for some good football.

"It doesn’t matter what team they put on the park, they’re going to be competitive and Kossie will have them switched on.

"Even though they’ve had a couple of surprising results, they’ve been consistent which is why they’re near the top of the Hyundai A-League."