Graham Arnold has confirmed the club has signed Newcastle Jets winger Andrew Hoole for next season and admits the pressure is now rising to lock-in Marc Janko after another match-winning performance on Friday night.
The Sky Blues were forced to work hard against the struggling Jets but got all three points thanks to Janko’s strike midway through the second-half.
Janko, off-contract at the end of the season, has now scored in six successive games to equal the record set by Besart Berisha.
“I’ve had a chat [about his future] He’s extremely happy here,” Arnold said of the Austrian.
“He’s performing and his performances are putting pressure on everyone. Not only me but the CEO and the fans are loving him.
“That’s why we bought Marc to the country. If you look at his goal-scoring record its phenomenal. We brought him out here to score goals and do what he’s doing.”
Janko isn’t the only off-contract star Arnold is hopeful of retaining, with Serbian playmaker Milos Dimitrijevic another one at the top of his list.
“He’d be close to the Johnny Warren Medal the way he’s going,” Arnold said of Dimitrijevic.
“Milos is a great guy, his professionalism and the way he’s dragged that up with the rest of the squad is spot on.
“He wants to stay with Sydney. There’s only one club in Australia he wants to be in and that’s us.”
Report: Newcastle Jets 0 Sydney FC 1
And it appears to be the same with Hoole. It’s been speculated for months now the Jets winger had signed a deal with the Sky Blues for next season without any official confirmation.
Until now. Asked about Hoole’s performance, Arnold said: “Very good. That’s why I signed him.
“I can’t wait to get a hold of him.”
After scoring 19 goals in their last five games, many were expecting the Sky Blues to crush the lowly Jets but the home side made it very difficult.
“I didn’t expect anything different. There’s no easy games in the A-League,” Arnold said.
“But I always felt we were in control and if we had taken our chances when we had them, especially after half-time, we could have made things easier for ourselves.”
Sydney FC are now up to second spot – at least until the rest of the top five play on Saturday – ahead of next week’s home clash against Brisbane Roar.
