City stars impressed by ‘sharp’ Cahill

Tim Cahill’s new Melbourne City teammates were impressed by what the Caltex Socceroos striker produced in his first training session with the club on Monday morning.

Having been without a club since his last match for Hangzhou Greentown on July 10, Cahill was put through a full training session on Monday and City midfielder Luke Brattan was amazed by the Socceroos striker’s level.

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Cahill has set himself a goal of being fully fit within three weeks, and judging by his team-mates’ reviews, Australia’s all-time leading goalscorer will achieve that.

“He looked sharp,” Brattan said of Cahill.

“He was saying he hasn’t done anything in four to six weeks. Me after a four to six weeks, I don’t look like that, so he’s looking really good.”

Then it was straight into the serious stuff as Cahill showed he's lost none of his touch during his short club hiatus.

Neil Kilkenny was also impressed by Cahill even if he did recommend patience.

“He looked good, and obviously with a couple more training sessions with the group and a bit more fitness, I’m sure he’ll help the group massively,” Kilkenny said.

Cahill has joined City for the next two A-League seasons and many pundits are predicting the 36-year-old will take both the club and competition to another level.

Brattan labelled Cahill “massive” for City, while goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen embraced the pressure that comes with having the A-League’s most expensive player as a team-mate.

“I think we’re looking even stronger than last year,” the Dane said of City.

“So we’ve got high hopes but, you know, you can talk about it – it’s got to be done on the pitch when the season starts and the pressure will be on us with Tim and other players coming in, but I feel we’re ready for it.

“I’m looking forward to it.”