Socceroo Terry Antonis’ return to Sydney FC was a bit of a reality check this week.
After the sheen of being crowned Asian champions faded, he came back to a team that had moved on and replaced him pretty easily.
Following the arrival of Mickael Tavares during that January transfer window, Antonis is now facing the prospect of losing his prime starting position.
But, the young Greek Australian is taking the situation in his stride and says he sees it as a positive.
“Having him [Mickael] with me and Milos in midfield I think is going to help me a lot and just by being able to train with them and learn heaps off them helps a lot,” he said in training this week.
“They’re both great players and I think I’ll learn a lot.”
The team has been preparing all week to go up against League leaders Perth Glory, and coach Graham Arnold says fan can expect the best.
“The break for the Asian Cup came at a good time for us to freshen the players up. The players had tough time in November and December with the injuries we copped and the players saw their team-mates get some bad injuries.
“I was able to spend a lot of time on recruitment to strengthen the squad and we were able to do that. It was like a mini pre-season, a good time for us and I’m expecting a strong second half of the season.”
Their last match was proof that the hard work is paying off, with the Sky Blues thrashing Central Coast Mariners 1-5 at Gosford.
Antonis agreed and expects the Sky Blues to become much more competitive as the finals loom.
“Since I’ve come back the boys are looking good,” he said.
“I think it will be a great test for us. We’ve been confident from the start of the season that we’d be able to do well with all the players we’ve got and the coaching staff so I think the final leg, halfway now, I think we’ll do really well.”
