Melbourne Heart FC central defender Simon Colosimo is fresh and prepared to take on the Newcastle Jets tomorrow.
Melbourne Heart FC central defender Simon Colosimo admits it was difficult to watch from afar against Wellington Phoenix last week, but the break has the 33-year-old fresh and prepared to take on the Newcastle Jets tomorrow.
Colosimo missed the Red and White-s trip to New Zealand, serving a mandatory one-match suspension after he collected a fifth yellow card of the season against Melbourne Victory nine days ago.
With a week to reenergise, Colosimo is determined to help Heart kick off the New Year in the best possible fashion with a win over the seventh-placed Jets.
“It-s very hard [watching from afar],” Colosimo said.
“You want to be involved and be there for every game, but it-s just one of those things, I was able to freshen up a little bit and get myself ready for tomorrow.”
Colosimo confessed he and his teammates were disappointed in recent results, but remained focussed and confident they can quickly change the Club-s fortunes in the New Year.
“The table doesn’t lie,” Colosimo said.
“[But] There’s still confidence we’ve got the right formula and the right players to go out and achieve.
“We still believe that we’ll be playing finals.”
Heart will also be bolstered by the return of Colosimo-s central defensive partner Patrick Gerhardt who also missed the Phoenix clash as a result of suspension.
The pair are likely to have their hands full with the Jets- marquee signing Emile Heskey, but Colosimo will draw inspiration from the last time the pair kept the former England international scoreless, despite the match finishing in a 3-3 draw at AAMI Park on November 24.
“There’s always talk about Heskey,” Colosimo said.
“He’s got seven goals in the A-League so of course there’s going to be talk.
“Not only because he’s a big unit but he knows how to score goals and he really helps their team link up.
“We played quite well on him last time. He didn’t score so that was good.”
But Colosimo admitted the Jets had danger men across the park and Gary van Egmond’s side were far from a one-man band.
“But it’s not only about him [Heskey]. Ryan Griffiths, we know, can turn a game very quickly,” Colosimo said.
“Ruben Zadkovich is playing really well so it’s not about one individual. It’s about containing them as a group.”
