One of the Hyundai A-League’s brightest imports of the 2009-10 season Adama Traore says his best form is yet to come despite an impressive start in Gold Coast colours.
The Ivory Coast 19-year-old insists he is still adjusting to life in Australia and is yet to hit his peak despite producing a string of eye-catching performances for United since the season commenced.
“I have had a good start to the season, but I am still not happy with my form because I believe I have a lot more to give to the team,” Traore said.
“The game here is a lot more physical and a lot more disciplined, so I am learning with each passing match. It always takes time to get used to a new brand of football, but I feel I am going in the right direction.”
Looking to play a big part in Gold Coast’s upcoming derby against Brisbane Roar on Sunday, the speedy full-back said the key to United returning to winning form lies on the training field.
“We just have to keep working hard at training and a lot of the answers will come from there,” he said.
“We have stepped up this week and we hope to see the results of that when we play Brisbane on Sunday.”
Speaking virtually no English when he first arrived on Australian shores, Traore was praised by Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg, who said the youngster has brought an X-factor to his side since debuting.
“Adama plays a different brand of football to what we’re used to in Australia – he’s delightful to watch,” Bleiberg said.
“If he says that the best is yet to come in terms of his form, then that is great news for us.”
After registering a 3-1 win over Brisbane in the opening game of the season, Bleiberg said this weekend’s match is about re-igniting the club’s season.
“We haven’t won for a little while so we need to win to get back on track, plus it’s a derby game so we want to come out on top from a pride point of view,” he said.
Both sides will be without key players due to national team commitments. Jason Culina and Shane Smeltz will be missing from Gold Coast’s line-up while Brisbane will be without captain Craig Moore.
“Even with these players missing it should still be a good match because it is important to both teams,” Bleiberg said.
