Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip says he is still assessing his options as he seeks to replace the suspended Wayne Srhoj ahead of the Club’s clash with the Perth Glory at nib Stadium tonight.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip says he is still assessing his options as he seeks to replace the suspended Wayne Srhoj ahead of the Club-s clash with the Perth Glory at nib Stadium tonight.
After collecting his fifth yellow card of the campaign, Srhoj will be forced to sit out leg two of Heart-s road trip, leaving van ‘t Schip to consider elevating either Simon Colosimo or Eli Babalj to the starting eleven.
But van ‘t Schip admitted he is yet to reach a decision after recorded its second successive clean sheet over the weekend.
“We have to replace Wayne, but we haven-t announced the squad. We have a few possibilities. We have something in mind, but we-ll see how things go. It will be Eli or Simon, so we-ll see how things work out,” he said.
While van t Schip acknowledged Heart-s extended travel schedule hasn-t been ideal, he said the win over Newcastle tempered the squad-s concerns.
“It was a long travel, first to Newcastle and then we had to go up three hours by bus (to Port Macquarie). We had to come back three hours by bus and then the next morning three hours to Sydney by bus,” he said.
“With the game we have played, we are going to have a light training and see how the boys feel. It’s OK. With the win, it helps a lot but we still have to see how the players feel.”
Having been held to a 2-2 draw by Glory earlier in the season, van ‘t Schip admitted Perth-s recent struggles have been unexpected, saying the team possesses the depth of talent to climb up the table.
The Dutchman added his side would need to remain vigilant and be wary as Glory seeks to strike back in front of a partisan home crowd.
“I am (surprised) because the quality is there. They showed that in the first few games in the season and that’s not gone. It’s only the team spirit goes down to a low level if you lose a few games behind each other,” he said.
“The best medicine is getting three points, we all know that, and they are in a bad moment. So we should be prepared and don’t give them the chance to get back in that moment they had at the beginning of the season.”
