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Nov 27, 2012   |  6:53PM AET

Victory in good spirits

Victory in good spirits

They say a little rain never hurt anyone, least of all a buoyant Melbourne Victory squad, who made light of training in monsoon conditions on Tuesday as they prepare for the visit of Perth Glory.

They say a little rain never hurt anyone, least of all a buoyant Melbourne Victory squad, who made light of training in monsoon conditions on Tuesday as they prepare for the visit of Perth Glory.

Victory are in high spirits after winning three of their past four A-League matches, including a famous comeback win over Sydney FC, and an equally impressive 2-0 triumph at Western Sydney, despite being reduced to 10 men.

Embodying the good cheer on the training field was Billy Celeski, the in-form midfielder drenched to the bone as he talked up Victory’s work ethic and determination ahead Friday’s match against Perth.

“Conditions don’t matter, we’ve got to be out there, working, training and getting ready for the next game, which is an important one for us,” he said.

“We’ve got to keep backing up, we’ve been performing pretty well these last four games, so it’s a matter of keeping that consistency going now.”

Another reason for the high spirits among the players is Victory’s imminent return to AAMI Park, where they are yet to play this season.

Etihad Stadium, the scene of victories over Adelaide and Wellington, has been reasonably kind to the team in 2012/13, but Celeski confirmed the squad are eager to perform at the purpose-built, state-of-the-art arena beside the Yarra River.

“We really enjoy playing here, obviously with the crowd on top of you, results going our way now too, they’ll be like an extra man for us and it’s a beautiful surface to play on, so we’re really looking forward to it,” he said.

While Victory will be without key men Mark Milligan and Archie Thompson due to international commitments, Celeski has faith in the ability of younger team-mates to fill the void in what is sure to be a bruising encounter on Friday.

“They’re both terrific players for us, they’re leaders on the park and their quality is second-to-none, so obviously they’re going to be missed,” he said when asked about the Socceroos duo.

“But our structure’s good enough where players can come in and fill gaps and we’ll try to play well without them.

“Perth’s going to have a few players missing as well.

“It’s always a difficult game against them, they’re going to be hard to break down, they’re a very physical team and it’s important we get off to the right start, on the front foot, and put them under pressure early.”