EVERTON’S Australia midfielder Tim Cahill is confident the Socceroos have enough strength in depth to cope when their big-name players finally call it a day.
Coach Holger Osieck will get an idea of what the future may hold when they are gone as he is without the experienced quartet of Cahill, Mark Schwarzer, Brett Emerton and ex-Liverpool player Harry Kewell for today’s friendly against Malaysia and the World Cup qualifier at home to Oman on Tuesday.
Cahill and Schwarzer are injured while Emerton and Kewell, former Premier League footballers who have returned home, have not been selected because of a clash with the opening weekend of the domestic A-League.
Six of Osieck’s 18-man squad are aged 23 or under and have just 38 caps between them but Cahill said it is important they are given their chance.
“You have to remember that if you don’t play them you don’t know what they are going to be like and the good thing is the coach is starting to play them,” Cahill said.
“Brett Holman is an exceptional attacking player. He plays in behind the striker similar to myself and can also play in midfield and should probably be playing in the Premier League.
“When you incorporate these youngsters with experienced players they seem to gel well and that is the good thing at the moment.
“But it is all about making sure we can keep those standards and stay consistent.”
The midfielder is doing his bit to help boost the conveyor belt of new talent by expanding his own programme of Tim Cahill Coaching Clinics in Australia.
A new course will run in January ahead of the established one in June but he plans to increase the regularity and geographical coverage in order to put something back into the game at grassroots level.
“I am a realist and sometimes in Australia we can think we are a lot better than we are,” Cahill added.
“We should be concentrating on what we are good at – which is working hard and making sure that, regardless of whether we think there will be some talent, we produce it by putting pressure on the top players.”
