Leigh Broxham said Melbourne Victory are relishing the chance to extend their winning run, when they tackle Adelaide United on Friday.
Victory have enjoyed a stellar start to 2013, including wins over two of their bigger adversaries – Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart – in their past two outings.
Add an away win against Perth Glory, and Victory are gunning for their fourth consecutive win when they travel to Hindmarsh Stadium.
Victory and United have endured one of the A-League’s most heated rivalries, dating back to the start of the competition in 2005.
Victory thumped the Reds 6-0 in the 2007 grand final, while then-United coach John Kosmina was suspended in 2006 for grabbing the throat of former Victory captain Kevin Muscat in a sideline scrap.
The teams have traded memorable away wins over the years and Victory utility Broxham is looking forward to a return to the South Australian capital.
“Personally, my favourite away trip is Adelaide,” he said.
“You obviously have the derby in Melbourne, but when you get on a plane and travel somewhere that’s my favourite place to go.
“I remember going to Adelaide one of my first away trips when I was a lot younger and that’s still stuck in my memory.
“It’s turned out we’ve had Sydney, Heart and now Adelaide in a row, and we were away in Perth before that, so it’s been tough, but that’s the nature of the league.”
Victory are second on the ladder, three points behind the league-leading Central Coast Mariners, while Adelaide have slipped to fourth place.
Kosmina shocked the Reds when he resigned last month, leaving former skipper Michael Valkanis to take the reins on an interim basis.
“With a change of coach, things are a bit rocky to start with and you’re not sure what’s expected,” Broxham said.
“Valkanis will have his own ideas that he’s trying to implement as well and it does take a little bit of time for the players to get used to it.
“It’s an important time for them, they’ve lost a few games and to keep in touch with the top few they need to start getting some results.”
Broxham – who last week signed a three-year contract extension – said he had no intention of leaving Victory, where he started his career as a team assistant before his promotion to the squad in 2007.
“I wanted to give myself every opportunity here for the club to offer me a contract,” he said.
“I didn’t really look anywhere else.
“I saw where the club’s going, the direction we’re going already after six months (under coach Ange Postecoglou) and I was more than happy to be here.
“I had that drive and hunger to want to get an extension and that’s what happened.”
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