Jamie Maclaren reaping rewards of Graham Arnold’s long-held faith

Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren predicted he would score a hat-trick against Nepal a day before the match .

Jamie Maclaren celebrates scoring his hat-trick for the Socceroos. Picture: Getty Images

Twenty-four hours before his hat-trick helped to dispatch Nepal in a World Cup qualifier, Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren predicted he would do exactly that.

In a sign of the confidence coursing through the veins of the Melbourne City striker, Socceroos assistant coach Rene Meulensteen put his arm around Maclaren seconds after Graham Arnold had named the starting XI to face Nepal and asked the striker how many he would score.

“I’ll start with a hat-trick and take it from there,” Maclaren replied, and duly delivered on Thursday night in the second game of Australia’s World Cup qualifying campaign.

It was against a side ranked 161st in the world, but it was also the first hat-trick in Socceroos colours for two years — and the first in open play for twice as long, since Tim Cahill put three past Bangladesh in 2015.

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The question is whether he can build on a night that quadrupled his international tally, after failing to convince some critics — though it’s worth noting that his initial international appearances came against the likes of England, Greece and Brazil.

More than a year ago, it was put to Arnold that Maclaren deserved a sustained run in the team to see if he could be an international striker, and he agreed. On Thursday night, Maclaren reaped the benefit.

“When the coach believes in you, you go on the field feeling free,” he said, clutching the match ball.

“At halftime (when Maclaren had two goals), he said to me, you’re going to get that third and I’m going to keep you on to get it.

“He kept his word and that’s all a striker can ask for.

“At this level, I’ve always looked in the mirror and said, am I good enough? But I knew I was, and sometimes it just takes a night like that when everything goes your way.

“It was just an amazing feeling (to get a hat-trick) — it was one of those things I’d waited for, dreamed of, believed I could do it.”

With Arnold planning to make wholesale changes for Tuesday’s clash with Chinese Taipei, Maclaren is well aware that he might be a victim of rotation, no matter how much he wants to go round again.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH