Neil Kilkenny is itching to get back out on the pitch and remains adamant that Glory can add a Grand Final victory to last year’s Premiers’ Plate triumph.
The midfielder, who has been an ever-present so far this term, was speaking to the media ahead of the Hyundai A-League’s season resumption this weekend, with Glory set to play out the rest of their games within the New South Wales hub.
But despite the squad being forced to complete the campaign entirely on the road, the he remains confident that they are very capable of claiming another piece of silverware.
“Why not?” he replied when asked if Glory can win the title.
“I want to win every time I train and every time I play, everyone knows that.
“That’s the mentality an athlete has to have if he wants to succeed.
“At the end of the day, we don’t care what the circumstances are, we just want to win.
“We’re really looking forward to starting again.
“It’s been a long time off and we’re really looking forward to getting going.”
Kilkenny went on to reflect upon the interruption to the campaign and how he adjusted to life in lockdown.
“Three months is the longest I’ve ever had off in my career,” he said, “and at the end of the day, it’s down to the individual to make sure that they’re ready to go.
“It’s a fresh start. Everyone has had to look after themselves for three months.
“Speaking for myself, I’ve become a child again at 34 – going down the park every day and making sure that I was ready to go when called upon.
“The decision [to travel to the NSW hub] was an easy one.
“I didn’t want to let my teammates and the club down and wanted to complete what we started.”
Match Details
Saturday, 18 July 2020
Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-Off: 3:00PM (WST) (5:00PM (Local))
Referee: Alex King
Assistant Referee 1: Owen Goldrick
Assistant Referee 2: Ryan Gallagher
Fourth Official: Stephen Lucas
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 503 from 3:00pm (WST), ABC TV from 3:00pm (WST) and Sky Sport 7 (New Zealand), Kayo Sports (www.kayosports.com.au) and MyFootball Live App, Live Fast and Data Free for Telstra mobile customers
Radio Broadcast: myfootballnation.com (SENTrack 801am) and Coast FM.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvCCM
Perth Glory Squad: 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jacob TRATT, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 8.James MEREDITH, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 13.Osama MALIK, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Vince LIA, 23.Dane INGHAM, 25.Carlo ARMIENTO, 27.JUANDE, 28.Gabriel POPOVIC, 29.Kristian POPOVIC, 33.Liam REDDY (gk) (C), 50.Daniel MARGUSH (gk), 88.Neil KILKENNY
**2-4 to be omitted**
Unavailable: 17.Diego CASTRO (personal reasons – season), 19.Chris IKONOMIDIS (knee – season)
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 2.Ian Zygmunt GORDON, 3.Jack CLISBY, 7.Milan ÐURIĆ, 8.Michael MCGLINCHEY, 9.Jordan MURRAY, 10.Tommy OAR, 11.Daniel DESILVA, 12.Adam PEARCE (gk), 15.Kye ROWLES, 16.Dylan FOX, 17.Sam SILVERA, 18.Gianni STENSNESS, 19.Matt SIMON, 21.Ruon TONGYIK, 22.Jacob MELLING, 26.Joshua NISBET, 29.Jair BRITTO, 30.Dylan RUIZ-DIAZ, 44.Alou KUOL
**2-4 to be omitted**
Unavailable: 4.Eunsun KIM (Not returned), 24.Chris HAROLD (Not returned), 27.Lewis MILLER (Injured)
#OneGlory
