Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou has sent out a clear message for the vibrant youth that currently occupies the national team to create their own future.
Jason Geria, Alex Gersbach and Apo Giannou are among the newbies in the squad. In the Postecoglou era, it has always been evident how willing he was to give young players a go.
Despite his confidence to tinker and change, the Australia coach was hard but fair on the young players in the squad and should they get fielded in their crucial World Cup Qualifier in Adelaide against Tajikistan on Thursday night, they should be well prepared for what lies ahead.
“I’m pleased there’s some youngsters first of all, our job was to always to make sure the door is open for opportunity, and how their future is up to them and how they take that opportunity,” Postecoglou said on Wednesday.
“One thing we’ve done consistently for the past few years, if we feel someone has got the game and shows the form, we won’t close the door, we’ll leave it open.
“We deal with some great young players, they’ll get an opportunity to train and to cope with that, then some game time. It’s up to them, there hasn’t been any barriers since I’ve been in charge to who represents us in terms of age and experience.”
POPULAR ARTICLES
Match Preview – Socceroos vs Tajikistan [VIDEO]
Thomas Sorensen says things are falling into place at Melbourne City
Lawrence Thomas wants the responsibility at Melbourne Victory
It is self-explanatory how ambitious Postecoglou is, and believed the same had to be applied to his players.
The Socceroos manager said it was pertinent because they will be the most important once they age.
“I think when you look at the demographic of the group now, every one of these players will still be in the right age bracket for the next world cup, every single one of these players should be hitting their peak,” he said.
“At the moment all that exists is an opportunity, it’s up to them to come in and literally make the position their own, they have to be that ambitious.
“There’s no point them just coming in and wanting to be a part of it and to be happy to be a part of it. They have to come and say ‘I want to start’ and ‘I want to be the best in my position this country has ever seen’ if they have that sort of attitude then the future will be healthy.”
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
