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Shane Smeltz and Jason Culina

SOCCEROO Jason Culina says Gold Coast United’s run of home games is an opportunity for his side to keep the pressure on league leaders Melbourne Victory and second-placed Sydney FC.

After their 2-0 victory over Perth Glory on Sunday, Gold Coast face local rivals Brisbane Roar on Boxing Day, followed by further games on home soil against Adelaide United and in-form Newcastle Jets.

Having closed the gap on the leaders over the weekend, the Gold Coast skipper has called on his side to make the most of home soil over the next three rounds.

“The Boxing Day derby going to be a big game for us and we’re all looking forward to it,” Culina said.

“We certainly need to win to keep up the pressure on the top two and we all realise the importance of game.

“Brisbane are picking up now and have shown some good form recently. They can be very dangerous so we will have to be careful and cautious, but at the same time play our own game and let them worry about us.

“The old football saying of taking one game at a time really applies to us at the moment. We’ve closed the gap on the top two this week and from this point on each and every game is a very important one.

“Our away form hasn’t been the best of late so to have this run of home games suits us and we have to take advantage of that.

“I think for the last three or four weeks we have been showing some good signs and our performance was good against Perth. We’ve played some decent football so now it’s about continuing to do that and also stringing a few good results together.”

To purchase tickets for the big Boxing Day Derby visit ticketek.com.au.