Sydney FC caretaker coach Steve Corica says Jason Culina will be in the mix for his side as he also looks to sure up his defence.
Sydney FC caretaker coach Steve Corica has pledged to fill the gaping holes in his side’s defence – and find a way to maximise Alessandro Del Piero’s incredible attacking influence.
Friday night’s 4-2 loss to Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium was a case of one step forward, two steps back for a club still reeling from the resignation of Ian Crook.
Del Piero scored two phenomenal goals that dragged the Sky Blues back into the contest but it was the other end of the park that has Corica, who flagged potential defensive changes for next week, most concerned especially as Sydney have now conceded 20 goals from seven matches this term.
“We scored two goals again, which is a positive – we’re just leaking too many goals,” he said.
“You can’t afford to concede that many goals and expect to win games.
“We’ll work on it at training next week. That’s up to me now, to do, and maybe (I can) make a few changes.”
Corica said Jason Culina played 90 minutes for Sydney FC’s National youth team and along with young gun Terry Antonis is a strong possibility to feature next Friday against Adelaide.
“Whether he can start, I’m not sure, but he’ll definitely be available for the bench,” Corica said of Culina.
Defender Adam Griffiths will also continue his comeback from a hamstring injury in the National Youth League this weekend.
Del Piero did precisely the same thing against Brisbane – and although he was far from mobile, his influence could not be understated.
The Italian superstar was isolated for much of the first half but the Roar let their guard down in the second and he stamped his mark on the game.
“Teams are aware of him. We work on it at training – we try to get the ball to him as quickly as possible,” Corica said.
“He scored two great goals today, possibly leading up to a third, maybe, if the ball was delivered to him.
“But we don’t want to be a one-man team, as well. If he’s marked tight there’s obviously spaces elsewhere so we have to use that to our advantage.
“Sometimes we kept prodding through the middle (but) the spaces were in the wide areas. We spoke about it at training but we still kept doing the same thing.”
Corica said he still had no idea how long he will be in charge for after Crook’s sudden resignation, but pledged to give everything he has while he’s in the hot seat.
Sydney released a statement on Saturday morning saying their search for a coach was ‘top of the agenda’ after a board meeting in Brisbane.
The Sky Blues say they are ‘pleasantly surprised by the number of candidates’ for the role but said no timeline had been set for an appointment.
“The first couple of days was very difficult. At training the boys were a little bit shocked that Crooky left,” Corica said.
“It was the same for me, I got on really well with Crooky and it was a shock to the system. But it’s best for him and his family.
“For us now, the main focus was on this game after the first initial two days. The boys were down but they picked themselves up, and at times tonight, they did really well.
“It can all turn around very easily if we can get a couple of results at home. And a couple of clean sheets would be nice.”
