He said: “The fixtures we’ve been given are not too hard.

“We have a couple of home games in there so hopefully we’ll be able to get some points on the board early on.”

Meanwhile, Tim Cahill rounded off his season in fine style by netting a brace for Australia in a 2-1 win against Japan to ensure the Socceroos finished on top of their 2010 World Cup qualifying group.

The midfielder’s brace brought back memories of the meeting between the two nations in the 2006 finals in Germany with Cahill came off the bench to score twice in a 3-1 victory.

Both sides had already qualified for next summer’s tournament in South Africa but the Everton man’s goals ensured unbeaten Australia remained top of their group ahead of Japan.

The Socceroos also trailed on this occasion after Tulio Tanaka struck for the visitors in the 40th minute but a Cahill header just before the hour mark and a right foot effort 14 minutes from full-time brought the 69,238 MCG crowd in Melbourne to their feet.

Cahill, who has now netted 16 times in 33 internationals, said: “I’d just like to thank the crowd, the lads, a great turnout in Melbourne, I’m so proud to be here.

“I’m so proud to play tonight so I think the credit just goes to the crowd, you were brilliant.

“This is a step forward for us, it’s great to finish top of the group.”