Sydney FC’s Milos Ninkovic may stand aside for Champions League

Milos Ninkovic felt lucky to be part of one all-conquering squad – but now the Sydney FC midfielder believes he’s struck gold again.

Sydney FC midfielder Milos Ninkovic says the extra workload and travel for the Asian Champions League might not be the best thing for him. Picture: AAP

Milos Ninkovic felt lucky to be part of one all-conquering squad – but now the Sydney FC midfielder believes he’s struck gold again.

The reigning champions are 10 points clear in the A-League with a game in hand after 14 rounds, thanks to Friday’s 3-0 win at Melbourne Victory, and remarkably have more points at this stage than Graham Arnold’s side had in either of the seasons it won the Premier’s Plate with ease.

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The gap gives Steve Corica’s team a buffer with the travel and fixtures of the Asian Champions League coming up fast on the horizon, and has left Ninkovic pleasantly surprised at history apparently repeating itself.

“To be honest with you, I am surprised we have done so well,” Ninkovic said. “I thought that after those two years (under Arnold), it would be a once in a lifetime experience, something you’d never see again.

“Now I’m glad I was wrong! I knew our squad was good, but to get to this stage again is something I didn’t think would be possible.

“It shows what you can do if you work hard – but also, this year we have won nothing yet. There is a gap, which is nice to have, but it’s three games really and we have plenty of hard games to go – Melbourne City away, Adelaide away, the derby.”

Though Ninkovic has rolled back the years in this campaign to be as influential as anyone in the Sydney side, he admitted that the rigours of the ACL may be an assignment to far.

Corica will have to sideline one of his four foreign signings for the ACL, and talks have taken place over whether Ninkovic will have a role to play on the continental stage.

“The truth is that it will be hard for me – I’m not 25 anymore and the travel in the ACL is difficult, it takes a toll,” he said. “I probably need a bit more time for recovery than I used to.

“I’ve spoken to Bimbi (Corica) about it already. We have an unbelievable relationship, and I know we’ll make the right decision for me and for the club.

“We have a few more days to think about it (before the squad is chosen) and we’ll make the right decision.”

Meanwhile, Brisbane Roar coach Robbie Fowler is starting to see the fruits of his labour in the A-league with side undefeated over the past five rounds,

The Liverpool legend has guided the team from the bottom of the table into the top six in a little over a month with three wins and two draws, including a late 1-0 victory over Central Coast on Saturday.

“We’ve always said we’re not a million miles from where we want to be,” Fowler said. “We still want a bit more, we always do but luckily the lads will put in a shift now, but it’s only what we’ve been working on.

“We are a new club, we’ve got essentially a new team. It’s not going to be an overnight success … I think any manager or any team will find it tough, but we’re getting good results now and we knew that would always be the case.”

New recruit Scott McDonald made his first start for the Roar against the Mariners at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday night. Fowler said he has been impressed with the former Socceroo following a difficult stint at Western United.

“You can see at times when he has the ball he’s a classy player, and I think the levels he’s played at, you can see that on the pitch,” he said. “He probably needs a few more minutes, the way things have been at Western United where he’s been sort of in and out and certainly the last month where he’s been on the periphery of the squad.

“Scotty’s performance was good and he’ll get better the more training sessions he does with us and the more game time he has, so I’m really happy with him.”

The Roar now have their second away game in a row when they face A-League champions Sydney FC at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Friday night. They last met in early December, with Sydney FC thumping Roar 5-1 in their biggest loss for the season.

“Sydney are a good team and they’ve proven time and time again how good they are. We’ll go away, we’ll work on what we need to work on,” Fowler said. “That’s all we can ask from the lads, to go there and give us everything that they’ve got and they’ll do that.”

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH/AAP