Ferguson facing selection dilemma

Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson faces a selection headache ahead of his team’s A-League season-opener against Brisbane Roar on Sunday.

The Glory have enjoyed a highly successful pre-season, winning nine of their friendly fixtures, leaving their boss with plenty to ponder ahead of the Grand Final re-match at Patersons Stadium.

“We’ve had a fantastic pre-season and everyone’s done a really good job,” he said.

“It’s been very difficult to pick a starting XI.

“I had a chat with the players yesterday and I told them that everyone has done a great job over the pre-season and they’ve given me one hell of a headache, but what a headache to have.

“I’m going to have to leave some great players out of the starting side and have some of them sitting on the bench and others sitting in the stands.”

Much of the media interest surrounding Sunday’s clash has inevitably focused upon Roar striker Besart Berisha and the kind of reception he can expect following his controversial role in last season’s title decider.

There have even been suggestions that Glory fans have paid for a plane to fly over the stadium during the game towing a banner message directed at the Albanian striker.

Ferguson, however, was keen to direct his attention solely on the game.

“I knew there’d be a lot of hype leading into the game, it’s not come as any surprise,” he said.

“But we know we’ve got to be focused. We’ve got a job to do on Sunday and that is to get the three points.

“We can’t worry about what’s happening on the terraces or whether planes are flying over with banners or whatever.

“I’ve heard there might be a few surprises for Berisha, but we’ve just got to stay focused and make sure we’re ready for this challenge.

“Brisbane did get the better of us last season and we’ve got to now get that monkey off our backs and get the win.

“We have a game plan, hopefully we’ll stick to that and get the three points.”