Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou backs his tactics ahead of crucical World Cup qualifier against Thailand

A DEFIANT Ange Postecoglou says he had the most to lose should the Socceroos miss the World Cup but is backing the game plan that was used in the loss to Japan.

Socceroos star Tim Cahill and coach Ange Postecoglou front the media on Monday. Picture: AAP

DEFIANT Ange Postecoglou won’t ditch his possession-based philosophy, declaring he had the most to lose should the Socceroos miss the World Cup.

Australia’s 2-0 loss in Japan left its Russia 2018 qualification hopes on a knife’s edge.

Star midfielder Aaron Mooy will return and Tim ­Cahill could also start in ­Tuesday night’s crunch match against Thailand at AAMI Park, which is on the verge of selling out.

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Postecoglou will stick with the controversial back three formation he has used since March, saying he remained confident of qualifying.

Asked if he had contemplated missing out, he said: “Not really, but I do know the consequences of qualifying and doing jack s--t because we’ve done that the last two times. Qualifying doesn’t give us the silver bullet either, ­because we’ve done that. I got the job after the last bloke (Holger Osieck) did qualify.

“I only took this job for one reason, that is to try and change the landscape. How successful I’ll be by the end of it, time will tell.

Aaron Mooy will return for the must-win game against Thailand. Picture: AAP

“But I’m not going to shift from what I ­started doing. In the end if it doesn’t work out, I pay the price anyway. It’s not like I’m not going to take responsibility for it. The players will go on. I’ll be the one that loses my job.

“But I won’t because I know we’ll be successful and I know we’ll be successful in the long run. In the meantime, you batten down the hatches, you cop the usual bullets fired from all angles and you just get on with it.

“That’s the journey we’re on and I’ll see it through.’’

Postecoglou would not confirm whether Cahill would start. Striker Tomi Juric should come into the team and ­defender Trent Sainsbury, who trained alone on Sunday, is a 50-50 prospect.

“The beauty of it is everyone’s recovered well from the first game (in Japan),’’ Postecoglou said.

“It gives me a chance to look at the whole squad and put together an 11 that I think will get the job done. Timmy’s certainly in those thoughts.

“I’m confident of goals. That was the one thing we didn’t do the other night was to convert our possession into opportunities. That was because we lacked a little bit of belief.”

Originally published as Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou backs his tactics ahead of crucical World Cup qualifier against Thailand