Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou says highly-rated winger Marco Rojas is still some way off becoming the finished product.
Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou says highly-rated winger Marco Rojas is still some way off becoming the finished product.
Rojas experienced an inconsistent first season in Melbourne after making the switch from across the Tasman at the end of the 2010/11 Hyundai A-League season.
The New Zealand international, however, has become a central figure to Victory’s plans this season under the guidance of two-time championship-winning coach Postecoglou.
Although he has made a strong start to the season, including two goals in four games, Postecoglou believes the 20-year-old has some work to do ahead of Monday’s showdown with former club Wellington Phoenix at Etihad Stadium.
“Look, he’s going okay. I still think he can be better and we’re going to push him to be better,” said Postecoglou on Sunday.
“He’s had a little bit of an interrupted start with being away with internationals and then an interrupted pre-season being away with the Olympics.
“I still think he has a way to go but I rate him pretty highly. He’s had a decent start to the season.
“Last week (against Newcastle Jets) he got into some great areas and if his finishing had been a little better we could’ve got a win and he could have four or five goals on the board.
“He’s going okay but like all young guys we want to keep developing him and he’s nowhere near where we want him to be right now.
“The good thing about him is he’s working hard, he wants to learn and he’s really keen on improving his game so that’s all we can ask.”
Meanwhile, Postecoglou praised the efforts of new goalkeeper Nathan Coe following his impressive debut last week.
Coe, capped three times for the Qantas Socceroos, signed a three-year deal with Victory after two seasons at Danish outfit SonderjyskE.
And Postecoglou showed no hesitation in handing Coe the ‘keeper gloves for the club’s trip to Hunter Stadium after just three days in the country.
“He was solid, he didn’t have a great deal to do to be honest,” Postecoglou said.
“It’s been good to have him the whole week here and he’s got a lot more comfortable settling into Melbourne with his family and getting to know the players.
“I’ve got no doubt he will be a great acquisition for us over time and he’s reading to go, he wants to play and play well for the club.”
