Socceroo Mile Jedinak has not missed a minute in Crystal Palace’s Premier League campaign

NO ONE has played more minutes or made more tackles in the EPL than Crystal Palace’s Mile Jedinak, Australia’s captain in waiting.

NO one in the Barclays Premier League has made more tackles (131) and more interceptions (137) than Australian Mile Jedinak.

Not only has the former Central Coast Mariners midfielder gone on to captain Crystal Palace in the Barclays Premier League this season, but he’s one of only two outfield players to have been on the pitch for every single minute of the 37 games thus far (Cardiff City’s Steven Caulker is the other) – an incredible effort for a combative, deep-lying midfielder who had previously been prone to picking up yellow cards.

The Socceroos might be short of a defender or two in Lucas Neill’s absence but one thing it won’t lack is strong leadership. Jedinak will more than likely take over the captains’ armband on a full-time basis at the World Cup – and he is well-equipped to do so.

Mile Jedinak could be one of the Socceroos’ shining lights in Brazil. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Liverpool's Luis Suarez (right) and Crystal Palace's Mile Jedinak (left) battle for the ball.

There can be no denying his influence on this Palace line-up in the top flight of English football: he’s a real leader of men. His teammates respect him, his coaches adore him and he’s a fan favourite at Selhurst Park.

The man who signed him to the club from Gençlerbirliği, Ian Holloway, had this to say about his captain last season:

“If a bomb dropped right next to him he wouldn’t panic.

“He could see it was ticking, he’d make sure he got everyone else out - he would lead the situation and get it sorted. End of story.

“He gives immense strength to everyone else. The bloke is completely and utterly immense mentally.

Jedinak hassles Edin Dzeko, of Manchester City.

“His strength is as good as anybody I’ve ever seen or worked with - it’s top, top drawer. Our lads are looking at him saying ‘thank god he’s playing for us.”

Once Holloway was sacked this season, replaced by Tony Pulis, Jedinak had nothing to worry about.

The former Stoke City boss is just as big a fan.

“Mile is fantastic and he leads by example,” he said.

“I am delighted with his efforts and how he drags people along with him.

“We did talk about him at Stoke, but we didn’t get close to it, so you could say I have admired him from a distance, but I admire him even more so now having worked with him.”

Jedinak tests Liverpool with a long range bomb.

It is astonishing to think that Jedinak was overlooked by every club for the first season of the A-League, as he has been a pivotal reason for Palace’s success this term – a model of consistency, a defensive workhorse sitting in front of the back four and the fulcrum in Palace’s midfield. Indeed, it’s ironic that the Eagles were the ones to put a further dent in Liverpool’s title hopes, because they had arguably been the form Premier League outfit of 2014, behind Liverpool, with a spectacular run of five straight wins that saw the side climb into top flight safety.

The skipper was at his industrious, inspirational best again in the crazy mid-week comeback from 3-0 down, even forcing a spectacular save from goalkeeper Simon Mignolet with a fizzing long-range drive.

“It’s hard to explain but I think determined is the word that best sums it up. We let them play their game and we are very harsh on ourselves when we concede a set-piece so we thought we let them in a little bit too easily for our liking,” he said after the 3-3 draw.

“We stayed strong after it went to 3-0 and still had a go and got the bodies forward, and slowly it went to 3-1 and then 3-2 and then I just had the feeling that they were a little bit rattled. I thought if we kept going we might have a chance here and luckily enough we did.

“I thought all the finishes tonight were great. Gayley was brilliant when he came on and the energy he and Glenn Murray injected was fantastic.

“I’m over the moon with the lads for their efforts in that final 20 minutes to keep on pushing.”

Next stop, it’s Brazil, where Jedinak will get the chance to further his reputation against Chile, Netherlands and Spain.

He’s spent the past year as a small fish in a big pond, helping Palace battle its way to survival in the EPL elite. He’ll need to bring all of those qualities to the table to help galvanise Ange Postecoglou’s unheralded side against the Group B giants too.

Mile Jedinak has a big job to do at the World Cup.

Originally published as Socceroo Mile Jedinak has not missed a minute in Crystal Palace’s Premier League campaign