Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell will need to look for a new central midfield pairing this weekend but will resist the temptation to use veteran defender Andy Todd as a midfielder when the club takes on Sydney FC.
Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell will need to look for a new central midfield pairing this weekend but will resist the temptation to use veteran defender Andy Todd as a midfielder when the club takes on Sydney FC.
The Glory will be down a midfielder after Wayne Srhoj received his fifth yellow card of the campaign in their last outing and will serve a one-match suspension.
While Todd previously playing as a midfielder when he captained Blackburn in the English Premier League, Mitchell said he’d look for other options in the middle rather than moving his in-form centre-half.
“When he has time and space he comes into the midfield and that’s great,” Mitchell said of the evergreen 35-year-old Todd.
“That’s what we want from him (and against Wellington a fortnight ago) he went forward and he played a good couple of combination passes.
“However I think he’s better off at centre-half in that role,” Mitchell added.
“I think from there he can come into the game (and take the ball) into the midfield and that’s better for him than to actually start there.
“If he did go into the midfield, who would you play at centre-half?”
If fit, Mitchell could have called on the versatile Jamie Harnwell to play alongside Chris Coyne in the heart of defence, however the Glory favourite is still recovering from a knee injury.
Mitchell could possibly use Adriano Pellegrino in the middle of the park after last season’s Most Glorious Player did the job with aplomb against Adelaide United in round 10 while skipper Jacob Burns served a one match ban.
The availability of tenacious Dutchman Victor Sikora will also give Mitchell another option. The midfielder progressing well from a hamstring strain and could slot straight back into the starting XI.
