Dedication and ambition are needed in abundance to make it as a footballer. Socceroo Tim Cahill has a wealth of both, but what he also possesses is obligation of duty - to both club and country - absent from many modern footballers.

He is loyal to the blue half of Liverpool in his EPL club life at Everton and manager David Moyes. He is also fiercely devoted to the cause of the Socceroos. Cahill has proven time and time again his willingness to travel vast distances and put his body on the line for the national team.

A former nominee for the prestigious Ballon D'Or, owner of a remarkable goal scoring record at club and international level and a work and team ethic seemingly from a long gone era, Cahill could have his pick of European clubs. The issue is many of those suitors may not be quite so willing to let him to make 20,000 mile round trips to play for his country. 

And compromise doesn't seem to be in Cahill's vocabulary, it's just not his style. He is a true terrace hero in blue and white or green and gold. And that's the way he plans to keep it ...

 

How are you feeling on the injury front now? There was talk your foot could need surgery ...

I had a problem with my foot that was irritating and I needed some injections, but it definitely won't come to surgery.  Ever since I came back from injury you pick up loads of other injuries after being out for so long - you get a back problem or hamstring and it's just about trying to get back into a rhythm again. Players are always going to be carrying a kick. You even get these kicks from training. As for surgery, it's definitely not a big problem like that.

 

World Cup qualification is going well. What has been the key?

The willingness of the players to travel and play. We have all shown how happy we are to play for Australia. With so many games in the Premier League, travelling to different countries and being there for a short period of time with less preparation, the players have shown a great attitude to go there and get the job done and get the results. It's great to see where we are, not losing a game yet or conceding a goal.

 

Away results like Uzbekistan, Bahrain and Japan were very much a case of "job done". Do you think Pim Verbeek has installed this resulted orientation streak in the team?

Yeah, definitely and there has to be that feeling as it's a results business that we all work in. It's the same as any competition you play in - get the result and worry about the football after. Managers would rather be up the top of table than at the bottom battling. We were disappointed with our performance in Bahrain, but the biggest thing is walking away with the three points. Pim's man management is fantastic. He has a very close relationship with each individual player. He's also very honest and he speaks to each player to tell them what they need to do and what they have done well and what they need to improve on. He's fantastic and that honesty is important as he's not there to sugar coat anything, he is there to be realistic and tell the players and the Australian public exactly how it is. It is a long process, but we're on the right track to qualify.

 

Were you pleased with the point earned in Japan?

Overall I'm pretty happy. It's really difficult to go to a place like Japan. They were five weeks in preparation, had played games and were flying. We only had a couple of days to get over jetlag. We set our stall out well, Pim had a game plan and we worked hard. A draw in front of 70,000 people away from home is a massive result.

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