Ian Ferguson expects Perth Glory’s finals campaign to receive a massive boost with a quartet of injured regulars in line to return next week.
Ian Ferguson expects Perth Glory’s finals campaign to receive a massive boost with a quartet of injured regulars in line to return next week.
Jacob Burns (ribs), Liam Miller, Josh Mitchell (both back) and Bas van den Brink (calf) all missed the Glory’s 4-2 win over Melbourne Victory on Saturday night, which came on the back of Shane Smeltz’s four-goal haul.
But Perth’s coach said he was confident the injured quartet would be back for their home elimination final on April 1 against Sydney, Newcastle or Melbourne Heart.
In a further boost, Ferguson said the hamstring issue which forced attacking midfielder Steven McGarry off at half-time against the Victory was likely to be just muscle tightness, while he was pleased with the way Scott Neville fared in his first appearance back from a knee injury that had kept him out since October.
“It’s all positive, it’s all good news,” Ferguson said of the club’s injury status after the Melbourne game at nib Stadium.
“Some of them will be in training [Sunday] and … we’re hoping we’ll have four or five of them back.
“Liam will pick his up, Burnsy I’m sure will get through it no problem – he’s one of those types of players who won’t want to miss this anyway – and Mitchell looks okay.
“Van den Brink was just more of a precaution. He felt a little niggle in his calf so we didn’t take any chances so he reckons he’s on the mend.”
Perth’s injury problems were so severe that Ferguson was forced to hand young midfielder Brandon O’Neill his first A-League start against the Victory, while seldom-used duo Jesse Makarounas and Tommy Amphlett and debutant Sam Mitchinson also came off the bench.
But the inexperience didn’t prove a stumbling block, with Smeltz’s incredible display helping the Glory twice come back from a goal down.
“Strikers can go through these barren spells where they’re missing chances or not scoring goals or not playing well but you can always rely on Smeltzy,” Ferguson said.
“He’s that type of player who will always bounce back and shut the critics up and put the goals in the net.”
The Glory’s win left them in the box seat to finish third and have home ground advantage through to the preliminary final as they only need Wellington to not win by three goals or more against Central Coast on Sunday to have the chance at two home finals.
Meanwhile, Ferguson said he was due to meet club owner Tony Sage on Monday to discuss his future.
The coach said he was cautiously optimistic of receiving a new contract.
“Tony has been great and it’s all looking very positive at the moment,” Ferguson said.
