Recruit refuses to concede finals out of reach

Western Sydney recruit Mitchell Duke has declared himself ready to make an immediate impact for the club.

Wanderers latest signing Mitchell Duke. Picture: Western Sydney Wanderers

Western Sydney recruit Mitchell Duke has declared himself ready to make an immediate impact for the club and help make one late push for an A-League ­finals berth.

Duke is set to make his first A-League appearance since 2015 after being included in the Wanderers’ match-day squad to take on Newcastle tonight.

After four years with Japanese club Shimizu S-Pulse, Duke’s move to Western Sydney completes a full circle of a career that began in Liverpool. Having attracted interest from Scotland, Germany and several A-League clubs, including Melbourne City, Duke said the lure of home factored most in his decision.

“I was at (Central Coast) when the Wanderers were established and I always thought it was amazing how the Wanderers did what they did,” Duke said.

“I always thought one day in my A-League career, I’d definitely love to play here and represent where you come from.

“They were just massive when they first came to the scene and had so much success. I want to help them get back to that.” The 28-year-old will add some serious starch to an inexperienced Wanderers squad that has won just one of their past 12 games and are 16 points out of the top six in eighth spot. However with a third of the season to go, Duke is refusing to throw in the towel.

“There’s 11 games to go. If we can push the team every game from now on, we’ll see if we can create a little run and make the top six,” he said. The former Socceroo was also on the cusp of a return to the national squad when he was selected in a camp by former coach Graham Arnold last September. But Duke fell out of favour in Japan and struggled for game time.

“When I got that taste of it back in September, I spoke to Arnie and he said, ‘If you’re playing regular football and doing well, you’ll get your chance’,” Duke said.

“That’s my intention now, to get back to playing football regularly, because it was really frustrating my finish in Japan.

“The last 10 games I’d only made two appearances off the bench and little minutes. So that’s what affected me getting any kind of selection after that camp.”

While the Wanderers, who also get Josh Risdon and Keanu Baccus back this week, face an uphill battle to make the finals, the Jets are 11 points adrift of the six in seventh.

AAP