Town defender Tommy Smith says he and his All Whites team-mates will be looking to restore a bit of pride when they face Mexico in the second leg of their World Cup play-off in Wellington on Wednesday having been beaten 5-1 in last week’s away game.
"We feel as though we let the fans down with our performance in Mexico and we want to make them proud of us,” Smith told New Zealand Football.
He says they'll be taking a more positive approach: "We’ll be pressing a lot higher than we did last week. We want to force them into mistakes. We gave them too much time on the ball last week, this time we want to disrupt their rhythm.
"We’re aiming to be more positive in possession and keep the ball. We want to be more constructive rather than being so direct.”
"We’ve just tried to instil confidence in the players and create a positive atmosphere. At the team meeting the other day I just tried to get everyone on the same page; we have good players who can get on the ball and pass it.”
Four years ago, the All Whites beat Bahrain 1-0 in the home leg of their play-off following a goalless draw away to secure a place at the 2010 World Cup, ex-Town loanee Rory Fallon scoring the vital goal.
Even though qualification is unlikely this time around Smith is hoping for the same sort of atmosphere at the Westpac Stadium.
"I’ve been talking to a few of the players about the Bahrain game in Wellington and they say that was an immense experience and I’m really looking forward to seeing that atmosphere for myself on Wednesday night.”
And he says he and his team-mates are looking for the same sort of performance to put the first leg behind them: "We’ve got something to prove to ourselves as well as the fans.”
The 23-year-old is due back at Town on Friday morning with manager Mick McCarthy already having the centre-half down as a doubt for Saturday's home game against Leicester.