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Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka has ruled out moving stand-in captain Brett Emerton to fill a central midfield gap for Thursday night’s key A-League clash with Melbourne Heart.
While Emerton will lead the side at Sydney Football Stadium in the absence of suspended skipper Terry McFlynn, assuming his midfield role is not on the cards.
“Brett will play as captain but not in Terry McFlynn’s position,” Lavicka said.
“The team already knows who will play in Terry McFlynn’s position but I don’t want to make that official.”
Lavicka has plenty of options for McFlynn’s spot including moving exciting youngster Dimitri Petratos deeper after he was employed as a striker in last week’s 2-2 draw with Adelaide.
Terry Antonis will also come into calculations after he was left out against the Reds, while workhorse Slovak import Karol Kisel could be used in a more defensive role.
The Sky Blues can climb to second on the ladder with three points against the Heart, who claimed second place with their 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory last week.
Sydney FC have yet to beat the Heart who have two wins and two draws from four clashes in their history including a 1-1 result when the sides met in round four this year.
After failing to win in their first five matches, the Heart have turned things around to be one of the hottest teams in the A-League with six wins in their past seven matches.
Heart coach John van `t Schip expects to use an unchanged squad for the Sydney game although Matt Thompson – the two-goal hero in the win over the Victory – missed training on Tuesday as a precautionary measure with a cold.
Sydney’s Dutch defender Pascaal Bosschaart, who signed a two-year extension on Wednesday, was eager to continue his team’s climb up the ladder.
“They are a good team but we are a good team too. We have a clear goal, if we win we are second in the league … it’s a fantastic opportunity for us,” he said.
Sydney will be keen to impress their home fans with just two wins from five matches at the SFS this season.
The Dutchman can’t put his finger on why Sydney haven’t performed so well on home soil, but doesn’t see the home record as a major factor.
“I don’t have a reason for it but if we win tomorrow nobody will be saying anything about it,” Bosschaart said.
The clash will begin a hectic period for Sydney who play three games in 11 days but Lavicka isn’t worried about the schedule.
“I think it’s nice when the program is busy around Christmas time. I think the players like to play more than train, so it’s good for them as well.”
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