Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip says it will be difficult to replace departing stars Josip Skoko and John Aloisi.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip says it will be difficult to replace departing stars Josip Skoko and John Aloisi.
With two matches of the Hyundai A-League regular season remaining, both Skoko and Aloisi look set to play pivotal roles in Heart-s final surge towards the finals series.
Scoring seven goals in 14 starts, Aloisi has been a stellar contributor during the season of his professional career, proving without doubt why he is widely regarded as one of the leading Socceroos of all time, having played in Italy-s Serie A, England-s Premier League and Spain-s La Liga.
Skoko meanwhile has been equally impressive, marshalling the Heart midfield with metronomic consistency to be the pulse which has driven the side towards a potential finals appearance on debut.
Emphasising his importance to the Heart line-up, the Club has only managed to record one victory in the eight games Skoko has missed this season, providing irrefutable evidence of his influence on the Hyundai A-League.
Van ‘t Schip said it was this ability which prompted Heart to sign the duo for the Club-s inaugural campaign, citing the massive contribution they have made both on and off the park.
“I think we thought about that, John Didulica and I putting the team together, that it was very important for the first year to have some experienced players with us. That was the big reason behind signing Josip and John,” he said.
The Heart gaffer acknowledged though that the Club would face a battle to find replacements capable of filling the sizable voids left by Aloisi and Skoko-s impending departure.
“The experience that both players bring in, you can’t buy that. They were happy to come and join us, but to find players like Josip and John, with the experience they have abroad and with the national team, and also the way they can sell that on to the younger players, that will be a problem to find.”
“I don’t think we are really going to look that way because they are not out there to replace.”
