North Queensland Fury will be looking to put their off-field distractions behind them when they take on Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.
Earlier this week the club announced that two key players will be leaving the Fury next season with Chris Payne to join Newcastle and Osama Malik signing with their next opponent Adelaide.
This was another blow for the club with Justin Pasfield and Isaka Cernak also previously announcing they would not be at the club next season.
North Queensland Fury Assistant Coach Stuart McLaren sympathised with both the departing and remaining players saying the uncertain future of the club made it hard to stick together as a team.
“The guys that are leaving have said that in a perfect world they would love to stay here at the club,” he said.
“Whereas the players left behind are disappointed as very rarely do you get a group of players that has a strong bond as we do here and to see it breaking up is tremendously disappointing.”
McLaren was, however, not surprised about the departure of players to other clubs considering the circumstances.
“The thing about it is we’ve known about the situation for such a long time. We know how to deal with it and we move on,” he said.
McLaren knew that Malik would be trying especially hard to impress his future team during their clash against Adelaide.
“I know the boy obviously quite well. He displayed to me tremendous professionalism for somebody of such young years so I’m expecting him to be probably more motivated in this match more than anything to prove why he was worth a contract at Adelaide for two years,” he said.
One player who won’t be out on the park though is captain Ufuk Talay, who will be serving a one-match ban after picking up his fifth yellow card in the 2-0 loss to Newcastle last week.
Eugene Sseppuya was also left out of the 15-man squad due to poor form allowing Brett Studman and Brad McDonald the chance to take the field.
“Any squad that is missing their captain goes into a battle with one string short on the bow. We’re disappointed but that’s something you’ve got to deal with over the course of the season, injuries and suspension. It’s just an opportunity for another player,” McLaren said.
“Gareth Edds will step into that role. He’s done a tremendous job earlier in the season … I’m sure he will lead the boys in the same manner he has done previously.”
“It’s going to be a difficult game down in Adelaide so we need to make sure we cover all bases.”
“Brett (Studman) gets a chance. Obviously he’s been waiting for a long time and I’m pleased for him because he has been dedicated.”
Meanwhile, coach Franz Straka won’t make the trip to Adelaide due to a severe flu virus.
McLaren will take over the matchday duties with Straka expected to recover in time for the Fury’s next match against Sydney at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Wednesday night.
