Is the Championship where you see yourself playing for the foreseeable future, or does anywhere else in Europe appeal?
Look, I’m enjoying my football here. I do not want to get too far ahead of myself. As a footballer you have ambitions and goals, but at the moment it is just about enjoying my football at Palace. You want to play at the highest possible level and I will work as hard as I can to reach those levels.

They say footballers hit their peak at around 27 – that’s where you are at – would you agree with that statement?
I’m not sure I would be the best judge of that. All I would say is that I’m feeling really comfortable and really enjoying my football. As long as you are doing that then you will be playing your best football. If you can also maintain a good physical level, then that will bring the best out of your football too. At this stage of my career, I am focusing on keeping myself positive, both and off the field, and that is being reflected in the football.

Onto the Socceroos, where since making your 2008 debut you have become a regular in the team. How settled do you feel in a Socceroos jersey now?
Whenever I get the opportunity to play for the Socceroos it is always a great privilege. I have now been around [the squad] for a few years and have got to know the team and the way it functions. I am now very comfortable in that team. I know all the boys, we all get along. But this is not something to rest upon. You still have to put in your performance and every time you step out for the Socceroos you have to perform. Otherwise there are other guys who are more than capable of coming in and doing a job. At this stage I am enjoying my run in the team and hopefully that can continue into the next qualifying phase of the World Cup. Our main focus at the moment is making that next World Cup.

There has been talk that you and Carl Valeri are too similar to play together in the Socceroo midfield – what do you make of that?
Perhaps in some senses we are similar in the way we play. However, I still think that we complement each other really well. Our partnership has worked well in games and we have a very good understanding, which is essential to have in the middle of your team. If your team has a spine which can communicate then everything works better. If people want to say that Carl and I are similar, then fair enough, but we have been able to do a job for the Socceroos. It is about winning games and putting in good performances.

We find ourselves in the second stage of qualification for the World Cup, what are your expectations for clearing that final hurdle to Brazil 2014?
It is no secret it is going to be very difficult. The whole team is aware of that. The first stage of qualification was the so-called easy part and it was by no means easy at all! We are not getting carried away, but we are itching to find out who we will meet in the second stage so we can prepare accordingly. We know how tough it was last time around, including some very tough away games in the Middle East and Asia. These are tough places with some hostile crowds. Hopefully we have that bit more experience this time, so hopefully we can put in the right performances.

Did a few teams catch us by surprise in the first phase?
I was not involved in the first Thailand game, but when they scored first that might have caught us by surprise. However, everyone in the camp was aware it was a game we needed to prepare for – no-one took it lightly. We did get over the line against Thailand in the end. We then went over to Saudi Arabia and showed what we can do. When we played Oman, who we have taken on before, we lost there, but that is football. You cannot win all of them.

How much of a motivation is it to know we have a World Cup in a country like Brazil in 2014 and then an Asian Cup on home soil at the start of 2015?
You would be stupid to say you do not have it on your mind. That said, you have to make sure you do not focus too far ahead. It should be something that spurs you on and it certainly does with me. When you are a part of an international team, you want to be involved in the major tournaments. For us, that’s the World Cup and Asian Cup. They are massive factors and players should be excited by such prospects. I am no different in that respect.

This article appeared in the March 2012 issue of Australian FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.

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