Herbert thrilled to bring top notch football tie to Rotorua

PHOENIX FEVER: New Wellington Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick is looking to test a new style of football at the club during a match in Rotorua tomorrow.PHOTO/FILE

With the Fifa World Cup 2014 Brazil qualifier playoff just around the corner, All Whites coach Ricki Herbert says he is looking for players to stake their claims for his first-choice squad during a match in Rotorua.

The New Zealand-based All Whites team have named a strong side to face the Wellington Phoenix at the Rotorua International Stadium at 2.30pm tomorrow, with four Phoenix players making the switch to the national team.

Glen Moss, Andrew Durante, Jeremy Brockie, and Leo Bertos will all line-up against their A League club on Sunday.

However, Wellington Phoenix defender Ben Sigmund has not been called up to the New Zealand-based All Whites team for the match.

Sigmund was sent off during the All Whites' recent match in Saudi Arabia, after stomping on a United Arab Emirates striker.

A suspension means he will not be available for the All Whites' international friendlies next month.

All Whites coach Herbert said by not naming him for tomorrow's match it gave someone else a chance to work their way into the All Whites squad.

"If the players play well they will be knocking on the door to be in the squad when we play a couple of international friendlies next month," he said.

"This game will be more about looking at individual players. It gives some players an opportunity to stamp their mark."

Herbert admits it will be a bittersweet moment stepping out against his old A League club on Sunday.

"I'm really looking forward to it. It's a great opportunity for Ernie [Merrick] moving into the season and looking into what he needs," he said.

"It's great for football to have New Zealand's only professional side face New Zealand A and it's fantastic for the Rotorua public. It will be exciting for them and I'm really glad that the game is in Rotorua."

New Wellington Phoenix coach Merrick said they were currently working on a new style of play which they wanted to test on Sunday. "We are trying to play a system of play which is focused on forward attacking play and closing down players higher up the field," he said.

"Defensively it is a risk, especially when you are up against good attacking players like Jeremy Brockie, who will be playing against us.

"But it is about pretending this is the first game of the season against Brisbane Roar and we will see if we can get into good goal-scoring positions and create a lot of chances."

He said the style of football had proved quite successful during the pre-season, with the club creating a lot of goal- scoring opportunities.

Merrick said he was enjoying his time at Wellington Phoenix, where he has been heading up the pre-season for about 15 weeks.

Merrick thanked the All Whites, Ricki Herbert and New Zealand Football for giving his players the opportunity to play against the side.

He said Phoenix stars Paul Ifill and Kenny Cunningham were currently nursing minor injuries and had stayed in Wellington as a precaution.

Tickets to Sunday's game include adults $15 and children $7.50. Tickets can be purchased at the gate.