Melbourne Heart are hopeful that their trio of players returning from national duties with the Olyroos will feature in Sunday’s Hyundai A-League clash against the Central Coast Mariners.
Melbourne Heart are hopeful that their trio of players returning from national duties with the Olyroos will feature in Sunday’s Hyundai A-League clash against the Central Coast Mariners.
Aziz Behich, Jason Hoffman and Mate Dugandzic flew back into Melbourne on Friday afternoon fresh from their Olympic qualifying campaign that came to an unsuccessful halt in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.
The trio will check in with Heart medical staff late on Friday and are expected to participate in full training at AAMI Park on Saturday, with an eye on playing some part in the Mariners match on the weekend.
“They all played (midweek) and there were no major injuries,” Heart boss John van ‘t Schip said after his club’s training session on Friday morning.
“It is better if all three are fit and ready to play as it would make it a lot more competitive for the group.”
“But we have to make sure, given they played on Wednesday and had a long trip back, whether they are able to play 90 minutes.”
Van ‘t Schip believes his star trio should be upset about not qualifying for the London Olympics, but says a finals run with the Heart should be able to make up for the disappointment.
“They now know they haven’t qualified, so they can concentrate on the last games with the Heart,” he said.
“That should help them get over the disappointment of not qualifying for the Olympics.”
Heart are slowly getting their full squad back together with their Olyroos trio back in action and the return to match fitness of experienced duo Fred and Matt Thompson following injury setbacks.
Van ‘t Schip believes his side are gaining in confidence and can make a nuisance of themselves in the finals series if they do happen to hold on to their top six berth.
“We are confident, we are feeling strong and we have players coming back,” van ‘t Schip said.
“Firstly, we have to get into the playoffs and after that we will see where we are ranked.”
“We are aiming for the highest possible position and if that means we can play a home final then we will be happy.”
To obtain a home final the Heart will need to win the majority of their remaining five matches and hope Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix slip up in the run home.
Heart currently sit in fifth place on the table and van ‘t Schip knows how important his side’s clash with the Mariners will be in the final makeup of the top six.
“It is important for both teams as they (Central Coast) want to finish first and we want to get into the playoffs,” he said.
“The pressure in the last few games will be different, but I don’t think there has to be much difference in the approach.”
