



Hersi just warming up, says Popovic


Dominic Bossi

Strike force ... Youssouf Hersi netted a double against Adelaide last Sunday.

Strike force ... Youssouf Hersi netted a double against Adelaide last Sunday. Photo: Getty Images

YOUSSOUF HERSI could be in line for a new deal with the Western Sydney Wanderers after his superb performance in their 4-2 win against Adelaide United.

Coach Tony Popovic hinted he was set to open contract negotiations while warning the rest of the league that there is still more to come from the flying winger.

The 30-year-old Ethiopian-born Dutchman scored either side of half-time to help the Wanderers to victory at Hindmarsh Stadium, and could extend his stay with the club beyond this season. Popovic said that the club was in talks to re-sign a host of their in-form players but said that his final decision wouldn't come down to a single performance.

''We're speaking to all the players we want to re-sign next year, and one performance doesn't make it more of a priority for me. Talks have started with all the players we want to keep,'' Popovic said.

The Wanderers coach is keeping his star player's feet on the ground despite his two-goal performance against the Reds. Hersi arrived at Parramatta Stadium at the start of the season struggling with match fitness after a knee injury limited his game time in the previous two years. He lasted 74 minutes in Sunday's match but Popovic is demanding more from Hersi as they continue to hunt for a finals berth.

''There's more to come from him. He's a player that didn't play any football for two years. He still struggles to finish 90 minutes so there's a lot more to come from him, and like the other players, like the other foreigners, we're pleased with his progress but I wouldn't single him out any more than any of the others,'' Popovic said.

The debutants are within reach of cementing a finals spot in their inaugural season but Popovic isn't yet daring to dream of silverware. In third place and 14 points clear of seventh, the Wanderers are in a commanding position but Popovic said his squad was not even close to the finished product.

''We're certainly not,'' he said. ''We're still in the infancy of our development, we're just a new club. We're on a great run, which is fantastic, but there's still a lot of room to improve.''

They have scored 10 goals in their last two matches against Adelaide, and Croatian midfielder Mateo Poljak believes their tally is helped by their ability to hit the Reds on the counter-attack.

''Maybe they want to attack, they want to press, and then we use the time really good,'' he said. ''Maybe we do counter-attack or something like that, I don't know. Really, they fit us that way.''

Poljak opened his account for the Wanderers with his first goal in the A-League. He cut inside from the edge of the box to turn his defender before he calmly slotted the ball past Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic. ''It was a long time ago,'' Poljak said of his last goal.

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