Upcoming Wellington Phoenix fixtures important in more ways than one

The Wellington Phoenix has asked fans to donate their pre-loved boots at next weekend's men's and women's matches in the capital.

The Nix launched the community-based initiative at Naenae Intermediate in Lower Hutt today in a bid to help families break down cost barriers to their kids joining a club or playing footy altogether.

"For me it's exciting to be a part of and the more accessible we can make sport for kids coming in, and feel valued and like they're part of it is super encouraging," said women's skipper Annalie Longo.

Wellington City Mission research revealed less than 5% of children in low decile schools belong to a sports club — compared with nearly 60% in higher decile schools.

The club hope supporters will get behind both the boots drive and the team as they prepare for two crucial matches that could determine an historic finals berth for both sides.

The men play the Brisbane Roar on March 31 at Wellington Regional Stadium, while the women host Western Sydney on March 30 in Porirua.

That clash against the Wanderers could be vital with the women's Phoenix just five points off a play-off spot which happens to currently be held by the sixth-placed Western Sydney side.

The side coached by Paul Temple have two games left in the regular season, travelling to bottom-placed Canberra this weekend before that clash against Western Sydney in Porirua.

Finishing in the top six would confirm a first ever finals appearance for the women's side after their establishment in 2021.

"I think we deserve it," said Longo.

"We started the season very well, it has been a rollercoaster with results and different things, but in saying that I think our performances have shown we deserve to be in that top six.

"We're fighting it'll be huge for the club, huge for the players and everyone wants it so hopefully the next two games go our way," she said.

The men's side are all but assured a place in the top six of the A-League ladder.

But they're chasing higher honours — a home play-off match for the first time since May 2015 where they lost 0-2 to Melbourne City in Wellington.

Currently top of the table, they are on track to proceed straight to the semi-finals which would be played across two legs in New Zealand and Australia.

A win over the Brisbane Roar next weekend would only boost their chances of bringing finals footy back to the caketin with five games of the regular season to go.

"Obviously, we're pretty positive about where we are, but trying to take every game one step at a time," said midfielder Matt Sheridan.

"It'd be pretty cool to give back to the fans, especially considering how they've been this season. We've had some pretty good crowds in Wellington and, obviously, Eden Park too".