Sydney FC star Brandon O’Neill has credited a pre-season piece of advice from Graham Arnold as the catalyst for becoming a household Hyundai A-League midfielder.
The 22-year-old has flourished in Sydney’s surge towards the premiership, becoming a mainstay of the league-leaders’ midfield following his 2015 switch from Perth Glory.
O’Neill is just one match away from notching 20 starts across the campaign after helping the Sky Blues to a 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners on Friday night.
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“At the start of the season [Arnold] sat me down and he pretty much told me what I could do to be consistent,” O’Neill told Fox Sports.
“Being a midfielder, you don’t have to be man-of-the-match every week like Ninko [Milos Ninkovic] can be.
“I want to do my job for the team and make sure we win football matches.
“I couldn’t be happier playing for Sydney FC at the moment.”
While not at their fluent best on Friday night, O’Neill believes the grinding result is still another important step towards realising Arnold’s vision.
“He’s reminding us to be the greatest football team in A-League history – that’s everyday, at lunch, in warm-ups,” the Olyroo said.
“Three points like that in hard conditions, against a good Central Coast Mariners team, goes a long way to doing that.”
