Western Sydney Wanderers players have been put on notice by head coach Mark Rudan to prove their worth as the A-League Men’s club faces another off-season overhaul.
The Wanderers, struggling to avoid a fifth-straight season without finals football, have 18 players who are either off-contract at season’s end or whose loan deals expire.
Former Socceroos Dimitri Petratos and James Troisi are among that group and both were substituted by Rudan after a lacklustre first-half display in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to high-flying Western United at AAMI Park.
Along with Petratos and Troisi, others whose futures remain uncertain at the Wanderers include ex-England international Jack Rodwell, Ziggy Gordon, Daniel Margush, Keanu Baccus, Bernie Ibini and Ramy Najjarine.
The potential clearout of playing numbers comes after 11 players departed heading into the 2021-22 campaign under former coach Carl Robinson.
Rudan said he couldn’t have made the message any clearer with his half-time changes against Western.
“At this elite level, it’s cut-throat, and I experienced it,” Rudan said.
“You’ve got to obviously be open, explain to them, be honest with them, in terms of where they need to improve and if I do make a decision like that, it’s not that I don’t speak to them.
“They have to be disappointed first of all and then know why I did what I did and I’m pretty open with all of them in that regard.
“A lot of them are playing for their futures. A lot of them are coming out of contract at the season.
“The onus is on them as much as it is on myself.”
Rodwell was also substituted at half-time but his withdrawal was due to a hamstring complaint, which is likely to rule him out of Wednesday’s clash with Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Down 2-0 when Rudan made his triple change, the Wanderers improved in the second half but were undone by Ben Garuccio’s stunning scorpion-kick finish to lose by the odd goal in five.
“We have to start to raise the bar in terms of where we want to be but other than that the second half was good,” the Wanderers coach said.
“We need to bring that energy with such a quick turnaround and (being) away on Wednesday.”
Jets coach Arthur Papas has confirmed skipper Matt Jurman will return from an ankle injury against the Wanderers with Taylor Regan suspended after being sent off in the 3-0 loss to Melbourne City last Friday.
Both teams come into the match with just three wins all season while the Jets have failed to beat the Wanderers in the past four meetings.
