Inaugural Newcastle team member Tarek Elrich has re-signed with the Jets for another two season.
Inaugural Newcastle team member Tarek Elrich has re-signed with the Jets for another two season.
The 22-year-old was a trainee during the club’s first Hyundai A-League season in 2005-06 but has since established himself as a regular in the team.
having played 63 matches, Elrich said he hopes to use the two years to develop his leadership qualities
“I’m still a young player, and we’ve got a lot of young talent at this club, and I’d like to help them out as much as I can, especially over the next few years,” said Elrich on Wednesday.
“I’ve been through tough times as a footballer in my short career and some of the young boys at this club are eventually going to go through the same thing. The club sees me as one of the more experienced players, so hopefully I can guide these kids and help them out as much as I can,” he said.
Coach Branko Culina praised Elrich’s efforts both on and off the pitch.
“Even though he’s a Sydney boy, I think he’s a great ambassador for Newcastle,” Elrich said.
“Some of the things he does off the park that people don’t necessarily see are just fabulous and it’s a great example of what this club is all about and what this club wants to be.”
Culina, meanwhile, has his sights fixed on Friday’s Round 13 away clash against a struggling Brisbane as the Jets look to build on last week’s 2-1 win over Central Coast.
When the two clubs last met earlier this season, the result was a 3-0 home loss for the Jets which was followed by a 6-game winless streak.
“We really let ourselves down in that game and from there on it went all pear-shaped for us, it really was disastrous,” Culina said.
“I don’t think that we played that badly, it was just that we lost concentration and focus and got punished with two goals in one minute. After that it was all over.”
“(But) this team has proven to be a good footballing team, we can play football and we’ve demonstrated that a number of times, but what we have to learn is to fight, scratch, do whatever it takes to win a game.
“We have to learn to win no matter what. It’s not enough to do it in a derby one week and then go missing again,” he said.
