A week into his new life as a Central Coast Mariner, Ross McCormack is ready to be unleashed against the Wollongong Wolves on Friday evening, if called upon. The Yellow & Navy are gearing up for a pre-season clash at WIN Stadium, kick-off is 7:30pm.
To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE!
The prolific Scottish marksman arrived at the Central Coast Mariners with an impressive goal scoring CV for the likes of: Rangers, Motherwell, Cardiff City, Leeds United, Fulham and most recently Aston Villa – not to mention a goalscoring spree of 14 goals in 17 games with Melbourne City.
After a gruelling training session in the heat of Pluim Park, McCormack spoke about his expectations leading into the season, settling in on the Central Coast and the chance of earning his debut this Friday night against the Wollongong Wolves
Expectations heading into the season…
“Yeah, it’s not about the individuals, is it.” McCormack said. “There’s a good group here, whenever anyone is asked to play or what job they’re asked to do; first of all they will be more than willing and second of all more than capable of doing it.
“We’ll be quietly confident. We will go into every game with the expectation that we will win it. The manager demands that, us as players demand that, we’ll be certainly not be leaving anything on the field,” McCormack said.
Working with other strikers in the team…
“Obviously strikers are judged on goals,” McCormack said. ‘I like to think it’s not just goals that I offer the team, but I’ll certainly take them if they are there that’s for sure. But it’s not something I’m overly hung up on, you know whether I score or anyone in the squad scores you know it’s irrelevant, it’s the result at the end that’s the main thing.
“I try my best to pass on little tips about positioning, it’s a hard thing to pass on positioning, finishing and what have you, and it’s just all about repetition and practicing it. The great strikers over the years will say you’ve either got that knack of being in the right place at the right time or you haven’t. All we can do is brush up on all the other parts of the game,” McCormack said.
Potential debut in Wollongong…
“I’ve not been on a field since probably about the 25th of January, that was the last game I played, it was at home to Newcastle for Melbourne last season. So, I’m just looking to enjoy it really, play as many minutes as I can, as many as the manager will ask me to play and just have a smile on my face.
Settling in on the Central Coast…
“They’ve been really tough sessions,” McCormack said. But it’s been just over a week with the boys and It’s been thoroughly enjoyable; the lads have been great. It’s been easy for myself and Tommy coming in at the same time to settle in. Training has been at a good standard so we are looking forward to the game on Friday night.
“Coming back to the A-League was always in my head because I enjoyed my time at Melbourne City that much so when it came around, obviously I spoke with the manager and Nick Montgomery who I know from England, it just seemed like the right club at the right time so yeah I’m happy to be here,” McCormack said.
“The Central Coast, as you can see it’s beautiful. The weather has been great, so it’s an enjoyable place to live. In terms of the club you know I said it earlier I’m impressed by the standard of training, the intensity of the training, the standard of the players’ as well. There are some very good players here, some good young kids so all in all it shapes up to be a good season,” McCormack said.
One month out from the start of the @ALeague season, our owner, Mike Charlesworth has some exciting news to share. Now we need you to believe, belong and become a member. #CCMFC #ALeague pic.twitter.com/sIzJoW9APT
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) September 19, 2018
Match details
Wollongong Wolves vs. Central Coast Mariners
Friday 5 October 2018
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Tickets: CLICK HERE
Kick-off: 7:30pm
Hash-tags: #WOLvCCM & #CCMFC
