Central Coast Mariners coach Paul Okon is pleased with his fully-fit squad ahead of a friendly match against Wellington Phoenix tomorrow in Wahroonga.
Despite a horror start to pre-season under former boss Tony Walmsley who oversaw the Mariners’ shock FFA Cup exit to Green Gully, the newly appointed manager is experiencing some early positivity.
Okon confirmed that Storm Roux is nearing closer to full fitness following a horrific triple injury last season against Melbourne City at AAMI Park, while Fabio Ferreira is back after a recent injury lay-off.
“We’re nearly doubled up in every position, which is ideal. Every coach loves to have these options,” Okon said to club media today.
“We want to make sure that there’s competition for spots in the team, so there are standards and expectations of every training session.
“Every session we want to see an improvement. We want to push the players as hard as possible.”
The 44-year-old revealed he and and his staff were forced to alter this week’s work-load, after a match against Brisbane Roar at CTM Stadium was called off due to torrential rain.
“After the disappointment of last Saturday’s washed out game, we changed the week around and we did a lot at the start of the week to substitute missing out on playing a game.
“We’re not really looking at the opposition or how they are setting up. It’s about what we’re trying to do.”
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