Wanderers new goalkeeper Liam Reddy prepared to fight for No.1 jersey

LIAM Reddy will have to fight for a place in the Wanderers’ first XI, with the challenge laid down to him and his fellow keepers by the man who will coach them every day.

A supplied image obtained Monday, Dec. 14, 2015 of Liam Reddy with his new Western Sydney Wanderers shirt, after the veteran goalkeeper signed with the A-League club on the weekend. (AAP Image/Western Sydney Wanderers) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

INCOMING goalkeeper Liam Reddy will have to fight to secure a place in the Wanderers’ first XI, with the challenge laid down to him and fellow keepers Andrew Redmayne and Dean Bouzanis by the man who will coach them every day.

Western Sydney goal­keeping coach Zeljko Kalac said Reddy was too good a goal­keeper to “be out of the A-League”, but was now in competition to try to dislodge incumbent first choice Redmayne.

Reddy signed for Western Sydney on Sunday after his acrimonious exit from the Mariners, and will be eligible to play once the transfer window opens in January. Kalac said Reddy would need that time to reach necessary fitness, but his presence had already galvanised the Wanderers squad.

“Nothing changes — we were in a position where we could ­actually bring Liam in, luckily enough for us,” Kalac said.

“A keeper like that, of that quality, shouldn’t be out of the A-League and be left without a club.

“It means we’re in a position to have three good keepers in competition for two places — and as we know, with a team like us that want to be successful, the more competition you have the better.

“I can see the difference already and he’s only been there for three days. The whole training has just gone to another level. Obviously he’s a bit behind our boys in terms of fitness and he’s got a bit of catching up to do. But I’d say by the New Year he’d be pretty much ready to go.

“I’ve worked with ‘Rocket’ before, he’s a fantastic guy and a great professional to have around the place. We think it’s a great asset to have. To be in that position, with three keepers on the books, is a really strong situation to be in.”

Kalac agreed that Redmayne had improved since round one, but said that applied across the Western Sydney squad. He said the defeat of champions Melbourne Victory on Saturday, to open up a gap at the top of the table, had been a key staging post for Tony Popovic’s heavily remodelled squad.

Liam Reddy has been challenged to fight for the Wanderers No.1 jersey.

“I think the whole team has improved since round one,” he said. “We probably looked at it as a case of not really getting going to round six or seven — don’t forget we changed 18 players in the off-season.

“Now we’re going from strength to strength and you can see the way the team is gelling.

“We talk about how many players can actually play for a big club, and perform when it counts — whether it’s going for top spot, or playing against the reigning champions. What level can you take it to, that’s the big question.”

Meanwhile, Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold has been cited for the comments he made after Saturday’s loss to Adelaide.

Defeat by a last-minute ­penalty was labelled “criminal” by Arnold after the game, and the Sky Blues boss faces a $5000 fine if his comments are held to be attacking the character of referee Strebre Delovski.

Originally published as Wanderers new goalkeeper Liam Reddy prepared to fight for No.1 jersey