Sotira admitted that in the immediate aftermath of losing to Bayswater in Round 2, after having dominating much of the match, the team was somewhat “disheartened”, but insists his side didn’t lick their wounds for long and that all eyes are now focused on the challenge ahead.

“It has been frustrating … that goal that we conceded [against Bayswater] was preventable, but I guess we’ve just got to keep looking forward,” he said.

“We can’t dwell on what’s happened in the past, we can only think positively and think [about] what we can do against Sydney United.”

“The mood has been pretty normal amongst everyone,” he shared, “We were focusing a lot on the positives and how, I think, as a group we played to the best of our abilities, but just didn’t finish our chances…

“So, the mood hasn’t really been down as such. We’re still confident that we can progress.”

According to Sotira, MetroStars coach Danny Graystone placed special emphasis on finishing at training this week.

“Every game that we prepare for, Danny [encourages us to continue] focusing on ourselves, what we do best and focusing on our processes,” he said, “And it’s worked throughout the whole year, but I guess what we’ve really needed to sharpen up on, especially this week, is putting the ball in the back of the net.

“We haven’t scored a goal [in the Championship] yet, and the ownership is on us to take some accountability and put the ball in the back of the net when the chances arise. We definitely focused on … our final-third actions [at training].

“[We’ve been working on] build up and ensuring that we are clinical.”

Sotira says he and his teammates are looking forward to experiencing the robust atmosphere Sydney United supporters are likely to create.

“What we’ve heard and what the coaches have already explained to us is that it’s going to be a pretty hostile environment,” he revealed.

“With Sydney United being a club with a rich history, it’s not going to be easy to go there and take three points off of them, but [we’ll go there with an understanding of] where we can potentially capitalise this weekend.

“[The atmosphere is] definitely something that we look forward to [as] we’ve got a very good bunch of players … technically, physically and mentally,” he said, before adding that the group has shown enough resilience over the years to overcome any obstacle.

“I’ve been at Metro for two years now [and] we’ve been challenged over the course of these two years, three with Danny and the rest of the coaching staff … like having lost two grand finals in the last two years,” he recalled.

“We have been in these types of situations before where we’ve been knocked down, but we’ve always managed to bring ourselves back up and focus on what we do best.”

The player, who moonlights as an accountant during the week, says MetroStars won’t change tact because of recent results, but will look to move up the table by “following our processes”.

“[The context of the group table is] something that we do have at the back of our minds, but as soon as we start - and this has always been addressed by the coaching staff - as soon as we start looking at outcomes, that’s when stuff can become rushed, pedantic and we don’t get into our ‘flow state’ as a team,” he explained.

“We’d rather focus on our controllables, rather than uncontrollables, which is the outcome.”

The forward says despite this weekend’s formidable opponent and hostile atmosphere, his side won’t be approaching the game looking for a draw either. In fact, when asked if they’ll be shaping up to win, he responded by saying, “Oh, 100 per cent.”

“What I’ve realised in my time under Danny is that every time we enter the pitch, we go out to win - whether it’s a friendly, league match or any type of match,” he declared.

“We always bring that winning mentality, and I guess that’s instilled [in us] from the way that we train - we obviously train pretty hard throughout the week.”

Sydney United vs MetroStars kicks off on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. AEDT (2:45 p.m. ACDT).