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Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell will keep Mile Sterjovski in a striker’s role despite the Socceroo’s quiet A-League debut last week.
Sterjovski, employed in a strike partnership with Eugene Dadi, was starved of opportunities and left clearly frustrated in the Glory’s season opening 1-0 loss to Adelaide United.
But Mitchell said the 30-year-old, who has played both as a wide winger and striker during his illustrious career, would again play up front in Sunday’s away clash with Wellington Phoenix.
“We looked at that option (of switching him to the midfield) but I think he’s good up front,” Mitchell said on Thursday.
“He was top scorer in the league when I had him before up front (at Sydney United).
“Mile’s a versatile player. He can play three or four positions, so from my point of view I think he’s a great striker and I can play him down the middle and he’ll score.”
Midfielder Wayne Srhoj has recovered from his hamstring complaint and will return to the starting XI in place of Jamie Coyne, who has been ruled out for the next four rounds with a knee injury.
Winger Adriano Pellegrino was grounded by a bout of mild tonsillitis on Monday but trained strongly on Thursday and is almost certain to retain his place in the starting side.
Meanwhile, former Brazil international Amaral trained with the Glory on Thursday in a bid to earn a guest player contract with the club.
Amaral, whose resume includes stints at Benfica, Parma and Fiorentina, played just seven games for Perth last season before suffering a serious hamstring injury.
The 36-year-old returned to Brazil after he was not offered a new contract by the Glory but has paid his own way back to Perth in a bid to continue his A-League career.
While Mitchell has no doubts about Amaral’s class, he said the midfielder must prove beyond a doubt his body can still handle the rigours of professional football.
“He’s here for 10 days,” Mitchell said.
“We’re going to have a good look at him, have him tested to see how he copes with that and then make a decision whether we keep him on or not.
“We are confident that he’ll be OK fitness wise and it was a shame (he suffered the injury last season) because he was a great player and we were robbed of his services.
“He feels bad about that and he appreciates that the club really looked after him when he was injured and he wants to pay back a bit of debt that he incurred from last year.
“The midfield is an area where we lack a bit of depth and he’s dead keen to come back to Perth … he wants to show people what they missed.”
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