Skipper Richie Garcia hopes he can remain at Perth Glory next season to boost the club’s rebuilding job and mentor the exceptional young talent at the WA Hyundai A-League outfit.
Garcia, 34, is off-contract at the end of this season but is keen to extend his deal for at least one more Hyundai A-League campaign.
With an exciting crop of emerging stars and a goal to return the club to their glory days, the former Socceroo feels his knowledge can be a huge asset to the club moving forward.
Hyundai A-League stats preview Round 16
“I’ve got a wealth of experience and I would love to stay with the club. It’s my home town club,” Garcia told reporters on Tuesday.
“It’s something that I can help with that plan and help mentor the young guys through. So I would love to stay on.
“You always need experience amongst youth, that’s something that the club are looking at. We’ve got an exciting bunch of young players, young WA players which is great for the future,” he added.
“I’d love to stay on just to be art of the progression of the club.
“I feel the club’s got a good direction, a good plan to go forward so for me I’d love to be part of that.”
That’s not to say the playing group have given up hopes of having a big say in the finals for this season.
Kenny Lowe’s side is currently seven points adrift of the top six ahead of a huge clash with the Jets in Newcastle on Sunday.
“We want to be in that top six. It’s something that’s still on our radar,” Garcia declared.
“I think we’ve been playing well, maybe we’ve lacked some experience in our decision making but as far as creating chances we’ve done really well.
“Now it’s just a matter of turning that into wins.”
Garcia says he has shrugged off the groin injury which kept him on the bench last weekend against Melbourne City, while Nebojsa Marinkovic could be set to return for the trip to the Hunter.
Striker Andy Keogh sat out training on Tuesday but that’s down solely to fatigue and not an injury.
“Andy’s had a couple of tough games. When you come back from not playing in two months, as much as you have been training you need a bit of rest after the games,” Garcia said.
“It’s just a bit of a precaution to make sure he’s fresh for the weekend.
“Nebo’s [Marinkovic] looking good. He’s had about four weeks out so he’s working pretty hard, he’ll be another addition to the squad which will be good.”
