They are the two key thoughts on Wollongong Olympic mentor Matt Bailey's mind as they prepare for their next Australia Cup fixture on Tuesday night.

The Illawarra Premier League outfit will travel to Chatswood to face Northern Suburbs club Willoughby Dalleys in round five of the Cup. At stake is a chance to join fellow Illawarra teams Wollongong United and Wollongong Wolves in the final 16 NSW teams remaining in the competition.

Olympic's preparation for the clash was hampered when their IPL clash with South Coast United on Saturday was washed out. However, Bailey said they were ready to give it their best crack on Tuesday night.

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"The little bit of reconnaissance that we've done is that they're [Willoughby] quite proficient in their league. They're quite a handy side and one that we''ll have to certainly switch on for to overcome," the coach said.

"I think any team that gets to this stage of the tournament is a competitive outfit and have some experienced and talented players. And we certainly fit into that category. Are we as well prepared as we'd like to be? Probably not, because we simply haven't had the on-field sessions or games. But we'll go into it with a lot of optimism that we're getting back on the pitch and into the momentum of playing.

"I think fitness is going to be be an important thing. These matches have the potential to go to extra time and further, so I think it's important that we're very disciplined and use our experience to manage the match effectively. If we do that, I think we'll be within a shake of getting past this team."

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