Phoenix Rising’s playoff final against the Tampa Bay Rowdies could turn into a goal fest, according to former Rising assistant coach Peter Ramage.

“[Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins] has built a really good team over there, who have got an abundance of talents going forward,” Ramage said. “They added [Jordan] Scarlett and Forrest Lasso over the course of the offseason, and obviously Mus [Dumbuya] went over from us over to Tampa, so there’s strength in the defensive department. They’ve got a good team, a really really good team.

“I think it is going to come down to who scores more goals, quite simply. I know that’s an obvious statement to make, but I think it could be a game that there’s going to be a lot of chances and a lot of goals.”

It might be nearing three months since he left Rising for a role at Newcastle United’s U23s, but in some ways, it’s still as though he’s never left.

“I’m still watching them as if I’m part of it,” he said. “I speak to Blair [Gavin] and Cory [Robertson] two, three times a week. I probably speak to Blair more than I speak to me missus, to be brutally honest with you. I’m always seeing how things are going on, and we’re sharing ideas, but I’m still watching it as if I’m working for the club. I still kind of haven’t separated myself that much.”

But how does he avoid waking up the whole household during games in the middle of the Tyneside night?

“That’s been the challenge, I must admit,” Ramage laughed. “I’ve kind of had to watch with hands in my mouth to keep myself from shouting with excitement, but it’s great. I did it when I left as a player. I watched the games in the middle of the night. I think everybody knows what the club means to me.”

Those matches haven’t been the easiest to watch in recent weeks, though.

“I don’t think they’ve performed to the heights that they have shown over the course of the season,” Ramage said. “But, when it comes to playoff games, just win, by any means. It’s been two penalty shootouts, and one extra-time goal. So that’s the perfect results. They’ve got wins. That’s all that matters in these games is winning.

“Performance becomes secondary. Obviously, they’re going to be looking at the performance and think, yes, we can perform better in this aspect and that aspect. But at the end of the day, they’ve done what they needed to do, and that’s go through each time.”

Of course, Zac Lubin is one person whose performance have stood out. According to Ramage, the goalkeeper’s shootout heroics come down to the sheer amount of preparation he puts in. Yet it isn’t just in those final moments that Lubin’s done what was needed.

“He’s stood up when it matters,” Ramage said. “His save, particularly in the second half, which took the deflection off Cory, for me was all about Zac. His reaction to be able to remanoeuvre his body to be able to save that. He came up with a big one just before we actually scored, when Jordan scored. That’s what you pay your keepers for.”

Through a long playing career before stepping into the backroom team in Phoenix, Ramage has taken part many big games. The coach said, despite the added pressure that might be felt on the pitch, it ends up being just another week for those who work it.

“From a coach’s perspective, and this sounds a little bit blasé, but it is just another game,” Ramage said. “Every game that you go in to prepare for, you’re preparing to win. You’re trying to prepare the players and give them the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition that’s going to hopefully help you to overcome [them].”

“The only thing you can’t really legislate for is the actual occasion of the game, because you don’t know how players are going to adapt to that. It’s a pressure cooker where for 90 minutes, 120 minutes, penalties, all these factors come into it which you can’t prepare for, if that makes sense, because that comes from the players themselves.”

So if Ramage were to be in St Petersburg on Sunday, what would his last words to the players be before the game kicked off?

“Just embrace the occasion,” he said. “Go out and perform to the game plan that’s going to be put in front of them, but enjoy it. These games are few and far between in your career, the magnitude of these games. Hopefully you’re going to have one every year, but just enjoy it.”

“Obviously, it’s what we play for, to be in these huge Cup finals, where the whole country is tuned into them. ESPN, it’s going to be on there, so it’s going to be an opportunity for them to showcase their talent. So go and enjoy it, embrace it and thrive under the pressure situation. When you get that chance, be ruthless, be clinical at both ends, and just win the game.”