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Postecoglou delighted with Rogic’s progress

Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou says you ain’t seen nothing yet when it comes to multi-talented midfielder Tom Rogic.

Tom Rogic’s hot streak of form has continued but Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou is adamant the super-talented midfielder’s very best football is yet to come.

Rogic was the star of Celtic’s 6-0 Scottish Premiership rout of Dundee FC overnight, scoring the opening goal with a slick volley and laying on the final pass for another minutes later.

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Seemingly injury-free for the first time in his career, the prodigious 22-year-old looms as a key figure for the Socceroos on the road to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and beyond.

While delighted with his progress to date, Postecoglou is more excited about what Rogic might be capable of if he stays fit.

“His best is well ahead of him,” Postecoglou told reporters in Canberra, Rogic’s hometown, as part of a promotional drive ahead of November’s home World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan.

“In terms of where his best is at – I don’t think anyone knows.

“He’s still a young man, and when you look at the injuries he’s had in terms of his career, he’s still got a long way to go.

“For me, just seeing him back on the park with a smile on his face, being able to play the football he wants to play… he’s certainly off to a good start.”

Postecoglou said Rogic looked like his “old self” during the recent Socceroos camp, in which the Asian Cup holders blew away Bangladesh and Tajikistan with easy wins.

Australia sits comfortably on top of their World Cup qualifying group but their next assignment is a difficult away trip to second-placed Jordan.

A win there would put the Socceroos in a luxurious position going into the November 12 clash with Kyrgyzstan, the team’s final qualifier of the calendar year.

FFA chief executive David Gallop is hoping for a sellout crowd at GIO Stadium in the first Socceroos clash in the nation’s capital since a 5-0 friendly win over Malaysia four years ago.

“We’ve been saying for a while we want to take the Socceroos around the country,” Gallop said.

“Obviously it’s got to be commercially viable for us as well and the ACT Government have supported this game well.

“It’s a chance for people to get out and vote with their feet, show us they want to see the Socceroos more often.

“If they do that, if we get close to a packed house, no reason we won’t bring the Socceroos back here.”

– AAP

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