That was the message Graham Arnold left with his players before they ran out on the field for the Sydney derby last week and an insight into the character of the new squad. It was written up boldly for the players to read in the changeroom before entering Allianz Stadium to face Western Sydney Wanderers and as events transpired on Saturday night, it almost seems prophetic.

As the tension reached chaotic proportions some players wilted under pressure losing their discipline, conceded own goals or making costly errors.

But more directly for the Sydney FC coach, the quote was a snapshot into the mentality he expects of his players who showed a potentially season defining character in coming back from two goals down to clinch a late victory in front of a record crowd. Having assessed the game in the days following, it's this character shown by the players that pleased Arnold the most.

"From my perspective and what I saw of the game and for what we've been trying to work on a lot and that's about team building and making sure we're a tough team to beat and we work together as mates," Arnold said. "We work together as a team and we got a lot out of that because we showed great character to come back from 2-0 down. It could've gone pear-shaped, it could've gone even worse."

That character will have to be on display again on Tuesday night when a likely depleted Sydney FC face Adelaide United in the FFA Cup quarter final at Allianz Stadium. There could be up to seven changes in the Sky Blues line-up given the short time since their bruising victory on Saturday night with a number of starting players to be rested.

The tough schedule compounds the difficulty of Sydney FC's FFA Cup hopes as the club has a day less than Adelaide to prepare for this game before another short turnaround  and their next A-League game, away to champions Brisbane Roar on Friday night.

"Very tough. Scheduling hasn't been great for us that's for sure," Arnold said. "The fact we're playing Adelaide and Adelaide played Friday night then [next] Sunday. We played Saturday night and then we have to play Brisbane on Friday. So the scheduling isn't fantastic for us but that's what's been dealt."

A number of youngsters and players yet to play A-League football are likely to start but Arnold insists he won't know how many players are available until game day. The players trained late on Monday afternoon in an active recovery session and Arnold will give some players until Tuesday morning to prove their fitness.

"We want to respect the FFA Cup, it's a great initiative and in terms of respect, I mean by playing the best players but for this game we're going to have the best players that are available because from the first look at it, we'll have a few players out," Arnold said.

Youngster Christopher Naumoff is likely to start after returning early from international duty. The 19-year-old was part of the Young Socceroos failed Asian U-19 championship campaign but says the lure of building on his two-goals in the FFA Cup makes it easy to bounce back.

"It's obviously disappointing not to have qualified for the world cup next year but look, that's in the past now and it's a quick turnaround so all I can do is look forward to tomorrow night and the future," Naumoff said.