Corica won’t be rushed into settling visa spots

Sydney FC coach Steve Corica says he is not losing any sleep as the club continues their search to fill three visa spots.

Paul Reid and Steve Corica.pose ahead of tonight’s match. Picture: Chris Pavlich.

Sydney FC coach Steve Corica says he is not losing any sleep as the club continues their exhaustive search to fill three visa spots a little under three months out from the start of the new A-League season.

Corica, who has taken the reins from new Socceroos boss Graham Arnold, remains quietly confident the Sky Blues will come up with the right foreign options to cover for the massive loss of striker Bobo and attacking midfielder Adrian Mierzejewski.

While Dutch defender Jop van der Linden has been signed as replacement for compatriot Jordy Buijs, the task of finding players to fill the huge void left by the departures of record-breaking goalscorer Bobo and Mierzejewski has been somewhat more difficult.

Fernando Torres had been in the sights of the Sky Blues as a replacement for Bobo, but the deal fell through at the final hurdle when the Spaniard opted to sign with Japanese club Sagan Tosu.

However, while Corica says the club has a number of options available for a marquee spot, he says he is not going to be rushed into making a decision nor is he tied to the idea of signing a “big name” player along the lines of Torres.

“We have five spots open in the squad, two for under-20s players and three visa spots,” Corica said.

“Certainly we need a marquee striker and a replacement for Adrian.

“We have plenty of options but I am not going to be rushed into making a decision. There are some big names in there and some not so big names similar to Bobo. When Bobo came no one really knew who he was.

“The most important thing is that the marquee striker scores goals, is great for the team and fits into the culture here … whether he is a big name or someone people have never heard of, it doesn’t matter.”

In the meantime, Corica has more pressing issues with Sydney FC starting their defence of the FFA Cup in a round of 32 game against NSW NPL side Rockdale City Suns at Ilinden Sports Centre tonight.

It will be Corica’s first serious competitive game in charge of the Sky Blues.

He was in a buoyant and relaxed mood yesterday and looking forward to his first serious challenge as a senior coach.

“It’s an exciting time for the players and for me,” he said.

“We have been back in training for a month and have had three friendlies, but this is a serious competitive match and we are all looking forward to getting out there tomorrow night.

“It will be good to get the first one out of the way.

“There’s no apprehension on my part. We have had a great pre-season so far.”

Corica says he will field close to his best side though van der Linden won’t take any part as he has only recently arrived in Sydney.

Rhyan Grant is also unavailable after injuring his arm in a surfing accident recently.

“We don’t have a big squad at the moment so we will be using the strongest side available,” Corica said.

“Jop isn’t ready so we will give him time to acclimatise.

“It shouldn’t be an issue as we have good depth defensive wise with Alex Wilkinson, Ben Warland and Aaron Calver.”

Tonight’s match throws up an interesting situation given the Suns are captained and coach by Paul Reid, who is a community football officer with Sydney FC.

The 39-year-old also played 11 games for the club during the 2012-13 A-League season.

The Suns also have ex-Sky Blues players Trent McClenahan, Alec Urosevski and Bai Antoniou in their squad as well as former Western Sydney Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic, who is still going strong at the age of 43.