Newcastle Jets coach Gary van Egmond is wary of a Sydney FC backlash, after the Sky Blues announced Vitezslav Lavicka would depart the club.
Van Egmond says the announcement that Lavicka's reign at the club was coming to an end, would add extra spark to Sunday's derby.
Lavicka and Sydney FC announced on Friday they would be parting ways at the end of the 2011-12 A-League campaign, adding further interest to what already appeared an intriguing encounter with the Jets at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The Sky Blues occupy sixth on the A-League table, with the Jets two points away and coveting their opponents' finals spot.
But it was Lavicka's impending departure which drew the attention of van Egmond most.
"It can work either way. Whenever the skipper announces he won't be staying and now Vitezslav is not staying on it can galvanise a team," van Egmond said.
"They have plenty of football left in them this year and they are in the top six at the moment, so they have lots to play for."
"But it can also be detrimental because it can be a distraction to the players because they know the coach is not going to be there next season."
"But it gives the players an opportunity to show they should be still at the club. I am not sure they have announced a new coach but they are obviously going to be put on notice from now until the end of the year, to get a contract to stay at the club, so it can work either way."
"But we have to worry about the things we can control which we have been doing well."
Newcastle come into the game in a buoyant mood, having finally claimed their first away victory of the season in the 1-0 victory over reigning premiers Brisbane Roar on Sunday.
Maintaining that form in their push towards the finals is the priority for van Egmond.
"You always take confidence from a win especially in the position we were in where we hadn't won away from home for a while and where we sat on the ladder - you get a win and you go up a few places and it definitely gives the lads some confidence and the feeling is better around the club," van Egmond said.
"It was more like a gorilla (rather than a monkey on the back). It was good to win but we still have a lot of football to play this season and if we are to make the six we have to be mentally strong and tough."
"We did really well with the three games in a short space of time but we are going to have some real testing time between now and the end of the year. But we have to make sure we keep working hard and get results."