Mariners ready for ALM turnaround against Wanderers

Central Coast are looking to kickstart their mid-season turnaround as they attempt to pull off a confidence-restoring win over Western Sydney.

Heading to CommBank Stadium on Friday, the reigning A-League Men champions are 10th (14 points) on the table after a woeful start to their title defence.

They are licking their wounds after a dismal 4-1 away loss to an in-form Sydney FC outfit, but coach Mark Jackson is refusing to throw in the towel.

It was this time last year when the Mariners discovered their form, turning around a four-game losing streak to begin a 12-game unbeaten run.

While accepting they are unlikely to replicate exactly their previous success, Jackson remains bullish about their chances of climbing up the ladder as they near the halfway mark of the 29-round home-and-away season.

They are seven points off sixth-placed Western United and 10 behind league-leaders Melbourne City.

"It's not where we want to be, of course, it's not," Jackson said on Thursday.

"We want to be as high up the league as we can but listen this is football. It's not all rosy. It's not all where you can have the same success.

"Everybody gets set off with a 4-1 scoreline (against Sydney) but it was 1-1 on 70 minutes.

"Yes, we are disappointed with the goals, and by dissecting them we can easily avoid them again.

"It's just about the consistency and putting the work in on the training ground. That's it."

On the other hand, Western Sydney are discovering fine form under new coach Alen Stajcic, having won three of their last five matches after going winless in their opening three.

The Wanderers returned from a bye to claim a 2-1 win against Stajcic's former side Perth Glory and bring themselves three points within the top six.

Still, midfielder Josh Brilliante has warned his side of expecting a straightforward win against the Mariners.

"It's so tough to read teams. A couple of games in this league can make a big difference," Brilliante said.

"To think they're (Central Coast) not performing as well as they should be and we take that for granted and get complacent, is definitely the wrong way to be thinking about it.

"Going away to Perth, they're not doing amazing but it still wasn't an easy game for us."

Western United host Newcastle in the first game on Friday, before a trio of matches on Saturday.

Auckland will attempt to return to the winning circle when they play league-leaders Melbourne City, Sydney FC take on bottom-team Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory will look to stop their slide down the table when they face-off against Adelaide United.

Macarthur FC host Wellington Phoenix on Monday, while Perth have a bye.