Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar believes attacking midfielder Mathew Leckie is still a chance of coming into World Cup calculations after his strong performance against Perth Glory on Tuesday.
Leckie, who’s played 16 games this season, shone against the Glory with some fantastic midfield runs and clever passing in attack.
Vidmar says the first-year player has plenty of room for improvement but is a ‘superstar in the making’ and may catch the attention of the Socceroos.
“He’s not ready for that but funnier things have happened if you want to call it throwing a joker into the pack, he probably ticks all the boxes at the minute,” Vidmar said.
“He’s just got some raw, natural talent and some power, some speed and every time he stands up to defenders and starts running at them, I think in a way they are having a massive panic … because he gets past them very easily.”
“There’s a few areas he needs to work on, his first touch, his final pass in the front third and if he just gets a little bit more composure in front of goal he’s going to be an absolute superstar.”
Leckie’s performance against Perth was one of the few highlights to draw from the Round-19 catch-up match with the Reds’ finals aspirations left in tatters after the 2-3 loss.
Questions are now being asked about the future of Vidmar and some of his underperforming players but the club insists it’ll will maintain its professionalism and push forward in its remaining A-League matches.
Defender Mark Rudan said there was still plenty to play for this season.
“We’ll try and stir up the top six and how it’s going to align itself I suppose. But saying that our primary focus will be the ACL, we’ll use those four games in preparation for the ACL,” he said.
“Will we take our foot off it, no chance, no way, we are too professional to even think about that and there’s no way we want to go into the ACL with bad form.”
“There’s a lot at stake and no-one wants to finish last, no-one wants that on their CV, so that’s another determining factor in us wanting to do well.’
Rudan admitted the players had let Vidmar down with their lack of success in 2009-10.
“First and foremost as players you’ve got to put your hand up and be honest and be accountable for your own actions. The ladder doesn’t lie, we are the ones who crossed the white line, but in saying that it’s a team game … it’s all the players, the coaches, the staff at the club, it’s everybody involved, everybody is accountable.”
