Perth coach Tony Popovic admits his undefeated, ladder-leading outfit is proving they are capable of challenging for the holy grail of this year's A-League title.
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The Glory made it eight straight weeks without defeat on Sunday after cruising to a 2-0 win over Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The win sets up a mouth-watering clash with reigning premiers Sydney FC next week, and Popovic has embraced the hype growing around his team by the game.
"We're in an unfamiliar position for the club, to be eight games and you're sitting on top," Popovic said after the win over the Jets.
The former Socceroos defender is no stranger to expectation, having led Western Sydney to a famous Asian Champions League title triumph in 2014.
He also spearheaded the Wanderers to three A-League finals, winning none.
"That's something that we spoke about through the whole pre-season; we want the expectation to grow on the club," Popovic said.
"To do that you have to perform consistently. You have to get results, and then people expect more. So now, people expect.
"Are we able to be premiers? The conversation changes and we want that to change. We want to be a top club that's challenging every year.
"I've said all along that takes years to get there.
"But as a team, we have a chance to challenge this year and we're showing that at the moment, we're good enough to challenge."
The Glory bested the Jets without captain Diego Castro, who didn't even fly to Newcastle after suffering a hamstring injury.
The marquee midfielder has been dogged by hamstring issues over the opening eight weeks, however Popovic denied it was a recurrence of the same problem.
"It was just tightness. A real precaution," he said.
"He had a bit of a niggle at training, I think it was just the body adjusting to being back playing again.
"So we were never bringing him over after that (Melbourne City) game."
Whether the Spaniard recovers in time to be on the plane to Sydney is unclear.
"Now with a short turnaround, we need him to really train Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and see him train fully for him to be able to play," Popovic said.
"We certainly hope he can. I thought he was fantastic against Melbourne City, and we'll do everything possible from our end to get him out there."
Australian Associated Press
