Boosted by the good vibes of New Zealand's qualification to the World Cup, Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante feels his side is about to hit its straps and take the Hyundai A-League by storm.
After a week's break for the international window, the Phoenix are back in action against the Newcastle Jets across the Tasman on Sunday.
Their side includes five All Whites – goalkeeping hero Mark Paston, Tony Lochhead, Tim Brown, Leo Bertos and Ben Sigmund – who wrote their name into history by beating Bahrain 1-0 at Westpac Stadium last Saturday night.
The quintet have come down from the euphoria of one of New Zealand's proudest sporting moments and are now ready to bring that winning vibe back to their club side.
"Everything around the club has been very positive," said Durante.
"The six All Whites boys have come back with a great attitude following the 1-0 win against Bahrain and we're all over the moon with the result. We've all been given a huge lift and everyone's full of energy.
"For the rest of us, being so close to the Kiwi internationals, we we're rapt for them. It was special for us at the Phoenix to have been part of it. There's a real euphoria around the club at the moment."
The Phoenix also carry the confidence of a 3-0 home romp over Newcastle earlier in the month and are poised to strike in sixth place on the A-League table.
"We're looking good," Durante continued. "We're doing it at the right time after starting a bit slowly this season and we haven't played too many poor games.
"We've been pretty consistent this year and we'll need to continue our good form in Newcastle this weekend.
"It's a big game for us. The Jets are only a point behind us, so it's very important for us to keep climbing the ladder and we need to be getting maximum points against teams below us."
Coach Ricki Herbert has made two changes from the squad that drew 1-all with Perth Glory in Wellington's last match.
Paston, who was injured in the build-up to his All Whites penalty-saving heroics, returns in goal and Diego Walsh replaces the suspended Vince Lia.
"Ricki wants to go over there to win and that's a great attitude," Durante said.
"We've got the quality in the squad to go at anyone, be it at home or away, and play an attacking brand of football.
"We've got guys like Adrian Caceres and Costa Barbarouses who can make a real impact with their pace and skill, while Chris Greenacre and Paul Ifill are in terrific form up front.
"We've got a lot of depth in this squad and especially a lot of attacking depth."
Helping the Phoenix get forward will be the addition of Leo Bertos to the starting XI, following stints off the bench in Wellington's last two outings.
"I think Leo appreciated the chance to freshen up mentally and physically," Herbert said. "I'm not sure he agreed with my thinking 100 per cent at the time, but he certainly does now."
It certainly appeared to work on Saturday, where Bertos was simply outstanding. While Paston and goalscorer Rory Fallon earned the biggest plaudits, it was Bertos' pinpoint corner onto Fallon's head that made it all possible.