Follow tonight's Phoenix match from 8.30pm on nzherald.co.nz's Live Scoring.
Adrian Caceres is determined to make the most of his chance for the Wellington Phoenix tonight in their A-League soccer match against the Central Coast Mariners.
The Argentina-born Australian is a chance to start for the Phoenix at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford after Brazilian playmaker Daniel Cortes was deemed unable to travel after suffering a groin strain.
After a series of good performances off the bench for the Phoenix - most notably in the Phoenix's last match, a 1-1 draw away to Adelaide United - Caceres said he would relish the chance to start against the Mariners if coach Ricki Herbert called on him.
"Definitely, I'm really excited," the 27-year-old attacking midfielder said. "It was hard for me when I first joined the Phoenix because I came to Wellington with a bit of an injury. But my aim was always to prove what I could do off the bench and to offer something to the team if I was called on to make an impact."
Caceres admitted the Phoenix's lack of a youth team had made his return to full fitness difficult.
"It's meant that I haven't had the regular and longer gametime that I might have when I was coming back from injury. If Ricki calls on me to start I'll give it everything but it's possible that 90 minutes might be beyond me at this stage.
"What I will do is give my all and run my backside off for as long as Ricki needs me to."
Caceres was impressive against Adelaide, his jinking runs at the Reds' defence ultimately leading to the leveller. While his ability to make an impact late in games is clear, Caceres' focus against the Mariners would be at causing havoc from the opening whistle if he starts.
"We need to get the win on Thursday night, that's the key. My role is to stay busy while I'm on the field and be influential by creating goals or scoring them."
Although the Phoenix are ninth on the ladder, three points in Gosford will keep them well and truly in the hunt for a playoffs spot.
"We've got nothing but the win on our minds," said Caceres. "I don't think we deserve to be where we are on the table given that we've outplayed almost every team in the competition. But we have failed to put teams away when they've been on the ropes and we need to make sure that we're turning dominance into wins."
- NZPA
