A glimpse of John Aloisi’s coaching salvation was seen at Lakeside Stadium on Thursday.
Harry Kewell, unsighted on a football pitch since the A-League’s opening round, resumed training for Melbourne Heart.
It was a welcome sight for a coach who hasn’t seen his side score for six-and-a-half hours and without a win since February.
Kewell was left out of an 18-man squad named to travel to Newcastle but will undergo a fitness test in the hope of making the trip for Sunday’s match.
The Newcastle fixture comes midway through a three-game stretch deemed “really important” for the club by Heart chief executive Scott Munn.
The first of those was the poor 2-0 loss to Sydney FC, the third hosting Adelaide.
It’s hard to escape the impression that without a victory in those three matches, Aloisi will be joining his injured players in the stands.
A goal would be a good place to start.
At the other end, goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne has been one of the busier glovemen in the league, and one of the Heart’s best performers.
He differed with coach Aloisi, who said in the wake of the Sydney loss that the pressure had gotten to his players.
“We are under pressure but I really don’t think the boys are feeling it,” Redmayne said.
“It’s not all the coach’s fault. We need to step it up.”
Heart have two returning players cleared from injury – defender Patrick Kisnorbo and midfielder Andrea Migliorini.
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