'Players playing for contracts:' Carney claims ahead of Wolves Spirit clash

The Wolves coach though was mindful of the fact that one win does not make a season.

So while Carney admitted being delighted with Wollongong's win over Central Coast last Sunday he stressed similar performances and results were needed on a more consistent basis, starting with their round 14 National Premier League NSW Men's clash at Christie Park.

"Everyone's looking good. We're feeling good about our chances," he said.

"I had a good session last night and we'll have another light session tonight. Everyone is ready to go.

"We've got some players returning from injury also so I've got pretty much a full squad again, which is good.

"It's a game that if we're up for it, we should hopefully go and get the three points."

The eighth-placed Wolves should fancy their chances of travelling to Christie Park and beating a Spirit side which has picked up just three points from a possible 15 in its last five outings.

Wollongong on the other hand head into the game having found some form of late, including securing an Australia Cup win before their impressive league win at Ian McLennan Park on Sunday.

"It was a good win under trying circumstances," Carney said of the Wolves' 5-1 victory over central coast Academy.

"It was obviously tough conditions with the heavy rain and the turf was really quick but the boys stood up and showed good character to get three points and to score five goals was great.

"Hopefully we can carry that on into Saturday's game.

"The prediction is of similar wet weather so the turf surface will be quick as a result. So it's important that we keep our feet and that we make it stick and keep the ball.

"But we still want to play with a very high tempo like we did, particularly in the second half and press them and be on the front foot. I think that's when we play our best football, when we're on the front foot and we press high."

Carney added playing finals football this season was still the goal but acknowledged he had one eye on having a team capable of performing well in the inaugural National Second Tier competition in 2025.

"We've had our challenges this year but I've been really pleased with the fact we're always trying to win games," he said.

"The energy is always there to do well and we have a good team and good work ethic. The boys really want to achieve success for each other.

"These are positives moving forward because we need the boys to start performing consistently at a standard where we can compete well in the NST.

"The players are playing for next year, the players are playing for contracts.

"So there's pretty much 17 games left for players to prove that you're good enough to play in the national second division. Quite a few are.

"But you just need that consistency to just go and earn yourself a contract for next year because there's a lot of players in this league that want to play in that national second division.

"It's basically up to them to grab it."