The Brisbane Roar have agreed on compassionate grounds to release goalkeeper Liam Reddy from the final year of his contract due to personal reasons.
Reddy requested that his contract with the club be ended at the end of the season due to personal reasons, and combined with the recent sudden departure of Charlie Miller, leaves the Roar shorthanded.
Roar coach Ange Postecoglou said Reddy, who is struggling for regular game time with Griffin McMaster now the club’s favoured custodian, would continue to work with the first-team squad and was committed until the end of the season.
“We understand players need to be happy,” Postecoglou said.
“I fully expect Liam to continue to contribute to the squad in the professional manner in which he has conducted himself at the club thus far.”
“When the time comes we will thank him for his time here and wish him well for the future, however right now we are focused on finishing the season strongly.”
Next season was meanet to be the final year of a three-year contract for Reddy.
While Reddy has chosen to leave the Roar, Postecoglou shipped off veteran Miller, opening up space for youngsters such as Mitch Nichols.
The midfield menace carried the Roar to last season’s finals with some unstoppable form after stepping into the No.10 role to cover for the then-injured Miller.
With the opportunity again arising for Nichols to stake his claim, the youngster is keen to prove he can once more become an attacking force in the A-League.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries so I’ve been filling in a couple of positions here and there but hopefully I can nail down that No.10 position for the rest of the season,” the 20-year-old said.
“I’ve just got to train hard and take my chance.”
Nichols said he had found it difficult to find his rhythm this season with international duty, changes to the coaching staff and the team’s mid-season form slump all playing a part in restricting the Socceroo representative.
“I had the under-20s (World Cup) and it’s been an up and down season all around,” he said.
“That affects everyone. I’ve really just got to work hard and keep working on my game and hopefully things fall into place.”
“I always want to go out and play well. I don’t think I’ve gotten anywhere near what I played like last year but I’ve just got to keep working hard and take things as they come.”
With just one goal to his name in the current campaign – a deflection from a Sergio van Dijk effort in Round 5 – Nichols said goal No.2 could provide the boost he needs.
“Some things haven’t been falling for me,” he said. “It’d be good to get a goal soon and hopefully I can get a bit of that confidence back.”
“That’s just football, sometimes you get your luck and other times things don’t go your way.”
“As long as I’m doing the right thing for the team hopefully I’ll get that luck and get a goal and push on from there.”
With Adelaide United set to visit Suncorp Stadium this Saturday night Nichols said he was preparing for a tough battle, despite the Reds’ placing at the bottom of the league ladder.
“We got a good result down there last time but they’ll be desperate for a win because they’re in a tough situation at the moment,” he said.
