Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell will resist the temptation to use veteran defender Andy Todd as a midfielder when the club takes on Sydney FC after the FIFA international round this weekend.
The Glory will be down a midfielder after Wayne Srhoj received his fifth yellow card of the campaign in the 1-1 draw with Wellington last weekend, seeing the Queensland native earn himself a one-match suspension.
Srhoj’s enforced break will be a significant blow for the Glory as he’s been in blistering form, scoring against the Phoenix with a sensational strike during the second half.
Despite Todd previously playing as a midfielder when he captained Blackburn in the English Premier League, Mitchell said he’d look for other options in the middle, rather than risk his in-form centre-half, who was once again the Glory’s best player against Wellington, particularly as he moved forward to set up several attacks.
“When he has time and space he comes into the midfield and that’s great,” Mitchell said of the evergreen 35-year-old.
“That’s what we want from him (and against Wellington) he went forward and he played a good couple of combination passes.”
“(But) I think he’s better off at centre-half in that role,” Mitchell added.
“I think from there he can come into the game (and take the ball) into the midfield and that’s better for him than to actually start there.”
“And then you’ve just got to say, if he does go into the midfield, who would you play at centre-half?”
If he was fit, Mitchell could have called on the versatile Jamie Harnwell to play at centre-back alongside Chris Coyne, but the Glory favourite is still at least a month from returning, having suffered a serious knee injury against Brisbane last September.
Instead, Mitchell could use Adriano Pellegrino in the middle of the park once again, after last season’s Most Glorious Player did the job with aplomb against Adelaide United, playing in the centre when skipper Jacob Burns was suspended for one match, having received five yellow cards himself.
But it would seem more likely that Mitchell will replace like-for-like, using a natural left-footer to replace Srhoj, with Dutchman Victor Sikora or Todd Howarth being the prime candidates.
Sikora should be available to play Sydney FC after missing the last two matches with a minor hamstring strain he sustained against the Fury, while former WA state league player has excelled in a number of roles during his first Hyundai A-League season.
