John Aloisi insists he’s happy to bide his time on the Sydney FC substitutes bench as long as the A-League team is performing well.
The million-dollar marquee striker has almost fully recovered from a knee injury but faces a fight to win his starting spot back with Alex Brosque and Mark Bridge impressing in his absence.
Aloisi scored when coming off the bench in last week’s 2-1 loss to Adelaide but is likely to start on the sidelines again when the second-placed sky blues host Brisbane Roar on Sunday.
“Look, you don’t mind so much when the players in your position are playing well and if the team’s winning it’s easier to come into a winning side,” said Aloisi, who has scored four goals in eight appearances this season.
“It’s disappointing that I did get injured at the time I did but that happens in football.
“I just want to make sure that I get physically right, train hard and when I do get the opportunities, to take them.
“That’s why it was a positive for me to get back on the park and score and hopefully this week if I do get on the park again to try and do the same.
“I think it’s healthy competition, but the main thing is the team’s winning, we’re all part of the same team and we all want to win.”
Aloisi made a brief comeback appearance from injury against Melbourne two weeks ago, but said he was now nearing 100 per cent again.
“Each day it (the knee) is getting stronger and stronger and I’m training regularly now with the team, plus I’ve had those two games off the bench,” he said.
The well-travelled striker believed Sydney were ready to quickly shake off the shock loss to Adelaide and reclaim their spot atop the A-League ladder.
“Our confidence is still there, we’re just disappointed that we lost because it would have been nice to have that little break away from the rest of the A-League at the moment,” Aloisi said.
“We just have to forget about that game and make sure we get it right this week now.”
Sydney are hopeful of having Swiss defender Stephan Keller fit to make his return from a knee injury against the Roar, who will be coached by Ange Postecoglou for the first time.
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