Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold addresses talk of him being a contender for Socceroos role

GRAHAM Arnold wouldn’t rule out a dual role as Sydney FC and Socceroos coach — at least until he knows what such a juggling act would entail.

Could Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold be the next Socceroos mentor?

GRAHAM Arnold wouldn’t rule out a dual role as Sydney FC and Socceroos coach — at least until he knows what such a juggling act would entail.

Arnold is the local favourite to take over from Ange Postecoglou, with some suggesting he could remain at the Sky Blues while also taking care of the national team until the end of the season.

But Arnold, who held the Socceroos job on an interim basis during the 2007 Asian Cup before Pim Verbeek took over, isn’t convinced the dual role is even possible.

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“I’d have to sit down and have a look at it,” he said. “I don’t know if it is (possible), I really don’t know. I’ve been there and done it before and it’s a tough job. I did it the worst way possible last time, as an interim, and that’s not the way to do it. It’s a job — it’s a job for your country.

“Whether I could do both jobs, I could never tell you that because I’ve not sat down and thought about it to see what it would entail.”

While Arnold says he is “flattered” to be linked with the job, he has not been contacted by FFA and, even if he was, walking away from Sydney is not a decision he would be able to make without serious consideration.

“If it did happen I’d need to sit down and talk to my family and my players,” Arnold said. “There are so many considerations. I’m not the type of person who could just get up and walk out and leave all these people and players and fans in the lurch. It’s something that I’d have to take into serious consideration.

Could Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold be the next Socceroos mentor?

“I’ve got a job to do here at Sydney and my whole focus is on winning against Brisbane Roar at our fortress Allianz Stadium.”

Sydney’s “fortress”, where only a few days ago they added the FFA Cup to their trophy cabinet, is about to get a major facelift, leaving Leichhardt Oval as the preferred venue to house Sydney in the interim.

But Arnold says the renovations to Allianz has left his team motivated to make sure they play in the last football match at the venue — this season’s grand final.

“That’s what we will be doing — participating in the last football game at the stadium in May,” he said.

“I say openly it’s my favourite stadium in the country, but the time has probably come for us to get an upgraded fortress.”

But the Sky Blues have a few more games to focus on before then, starting with Brisbane tonight. It will be their third game in a week, but Arnold says all the players have pulled up well after Tuesday night’s FFA Cup triumph in extra time over Adelaide United.

“Obviously after winning something you always feel much better about yourself,” he said. “Everyone talks about the games — we’ve had two within four days — but we train hard and we prepare ourselves for 120 minutes of football, not 90 minutes. So that was just normal for us.”

Originally published as Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold addresses talk of him being a contender for Socceroos role