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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You were asked to play the lone striker role against Japan and you seemed slightly isolated.

Yeah definitely, it's hard. But I feel the players we had and the way we played made us well equipped for the night. I would have liked to have added more to the game personally, but on that day it was pretty quiet for me.

 

How many points do we need to get for World Cup qualification?

That's the million dollar question. I want to win every game. To win every game and show how strong we are would be the best way of doing it. Not leaving any stone unturned and just going for broke.

 

A lot has been said about the club and country balance. How do David Moyes and Pim handle it with you?

They have contact. The hardest thing is that Everton pay my wages, so going away to play for Australia and getting injured is one of the biggest sour points. I have a very good relationship with David Moyes, we chat before I go away and when I get back. He gives his views and when I'm with Pim we chat as well. It's just common sense, making sure my body is right. It is very hard, especially with how passionate I am about Australia. I'd go to the edge of the earth to play for Australia. It is just so important that we qualify for the World Cup in South Africa and we have got a chance to make history for the Australian public and back up what we have achieved by not being one World Cup wonders.

 

The 2010 World Cup line-up is looking similar to the 2006 team. Is that a good thing in terms of experience or disappointing that more new players haven't come to the fore?

It's a bit of both. Experience is what wins you trophies and it is a recipe for a winning team - making sure we know what we are doing and we're not changing things at the last minute. The other side is the upcoming players, where you have the A-League and Australian-based players and Pim has been bringing these players in ever since he's been in the job. Pim is preparing those players for success in the future, maybe some of them are ready, maybe some of them aren't. But Pim knows in his mind that he can rely on certain players when called upon. Hopefully we will see more and more kids coming through from Australia and the A-League to work their way through the ranks and into the full national team. You can find the next superstars in Australia and you can breed them into being successful for their country.

 

Expectations for the Socceroos have risen considerably, with World Cup qualification a minimum. Are you feeling additional pressure?

No, never. It is an absolute pleasure to play for Australia. It's all about getting the job done for your country. We've got a World Cup campaign to qualify for and it is all business when we go into camp. It is part and parcel of playing for Australia that expectations have gone through the roof. There was no point being negative about the Japan game. We are going to have one of those in a blue moon and that was a bad one. We always strive to do better. I'd like to think we can qualify for this World Cup, then strive to do better than we did last time.

 

Providing we make it, what can Australia achieve in South Africa?

First we need to get there and if we do get there it is a massive test. It's about striving to achieve the heights that we achieved last time. Getting out of the group is the pinnacle point of any competition, but from then on it's pot luck. You only have to look at what happened with us against Italy. We have to use our strength, determination, passion and power to get out of the group stages and then it is just a 90 or 95 minute performance where on your day you can potentially beat anyone.

 

In club matters, the Premiership this year is tighter than it's ever been from top to bottom...

It's pretty crazy and as every game is a bit of a yo-yo as everyone is so close to each other. It's just about the results for us - a couple of wins and you're up there, a couple of losses and you're back in amongst it again. We have been working hard on getting some results against some big teams as well as working hard on our strengths and weaknesses. At the moment we are enjoying it. We had an indifferent start, but we are now working as a team to get the rub of the green.

 

What do you think Everton can achieve this season?

Every year we try and get into Europe. Finishing in the top eight will be a massive achievement for Everton. There are so many teams going for it. You have Man City with their new pot of gold to go and buy big name players. We have consolidated our squad and are focused on getting better results to get us up there. We would love to go on an FA Cup run and win some silverware, plus finish in the top eight or even higher.

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You've managed to score at Anfield once again this season, plus knock them out of the FA Cup.

It's good. Scoring against Liverpool is an amazing feeling. Knocking them off the top of the league was a massive feat. A lot of people might look at me and not be happy with me, but my job is to play for Everton.

 

After scoring against Aston Villa to send Everton into the last eight of the FA Cup, you dedicated your goal to the Victoria bushfire victims.

You have to think "it's just football". There are more important things in life at the moment. The news effected me before I went to Japan. Part of you doesn't want to leave your family to go to Japan as you want to be close to your loved ones. Part of you has to move on and be strong. As players we gave our match fees to the cause and we were thinking of those who had lost loved ones and the state of play in Australia. It's hard to think of something like that happening in a beautiful country like Australia. It's hard to take in, it just feels like a real bad dream.

 

Losing Yakubu for the season was a big blow to the team. You seem to have been handed more goal scoring responsibilities.

Yeah, I suppose so. Yakubu is a very important striker for us and a great player. Him doing his Achilles and being out for the season is disheartening. I have found myself playing upfront as a lone striker and doing what strikers do. It's not always about scoring, but playing well within the team.

 

How long have you got left on your deal at Everton and what's the long-term plan?

I have got about two or three years left on my deal. I love it at this club and everything that has happened in the past five years since I have been here has always been positive. When I came here I knew it was a club I wanted to play for and I showed that on the pitch. Who knows what will happen? It is a hell of a long time, after that it is about signing again or seeing what happens. I love everything about Everton - the fans, the lads, the staff, the family atmosphere. It is a family-oriented atmosphere place and a lot of people care about the club a lot. When I play I try and influence the club and everything I do is Everton orientated.

 

Looking back to Australia, what's your plan for a potential South Coast FC bid?

I'm involved in that bid, but it is going to take time. It is something I am working on alongside forming my Tim Cahill Academies throughout Australia. We have been working on that for the last couple of years. South Coast is something which isn't just a two-minute thing, it has a lot of due diligence behind it and people working hard to try and put something together. I feel supporting it and being involved with it is the best thing. I'll set up the academies first and worry about the football club after.

 

Do you envisage your South Coast FC involvement to be as a player or just an investor?

One day I'll go back to Australia, but it's not going be too soon. I have a lot of football left in my career at the highest level. After Everton, you just never know who you will be playing for or whether I'll sign again. South Coast FC has gone well past just the investor stage for me, but it's more about the youth development of the kids at all different levels with different scholarships. South Coast FC is still a long way away, but the best thing about the project separate to the academies is that it is a sleeping giant, so we don't want to keep going out and just talking about it. We are more concerned with actually doing it, than just talking about it. The competition from the Western suburbs, and another team in Timbuktu and another team in wherever, we are not worried about that. We are worried about doing our work quietly and showing our results later on in good time.

 

What do you hope to achieve with your Australian youth academies?

We have been working on this for some time. It will enables kids to come along, be coached and shown the right way to train and have discipline. We will have these kids who aspire to play football and we will give them the full package. There are so many academies all over the place and they are probably very good, but I feel responsible. Kids look up to me and every time I go to Australia I'm always asked the question, "Is there somewhere the kids can go to learn?". The awareness is already there and the kids are really excited about it. It is one of those things where I'm trying to put something back into the game. I want to give the kids the same dreams and hopes as when I started. We have to start these things and build them slowly. It is not going to happen overnight.

 

What are your impressions of the current A-League set-up?

I like the A-League as it is a chance for kids to play in a competition in Australia. With the way football has grown in Australia over the last six years, it has needed this injection of sponsorship, money, a bit of flare, television and fans. It gives them something to aspire to. It gives the kids an opportunity to play in a decent level of competition. We get the A-League in England and it's great to see the likes of Archie scoring, or any of the lads scoring and playing well. I'm very positive about the A-League, but obviously it is always going to need fine tuning and that is why the involvement of a team on the South Coast is a niche in the market that the league is missing at the moment.

 

The A-League seems to be missing the star imports and returning national heroes of past seasons...

I don't want to criticise the players, but the reason for that is that as players, me speaking personally, my dream is to play at the highest level for as long as possible. Then hopefully come home and play in the A-League and help take that to another level.  It would be brilliant to come home and bring my kids home. One day that will definitely happen. Lucas [Neill] has spoken about how he'd come back to play in the A-League, I don't know about Harry or Viduka. We are all very positive and passionate about our country and the A-League.

 

Are you confident about the quality of the next crop of Socceroos?

Yeah, I hope so. If you look through the years, the quality of players coming through has only got better. It is about the determination of the players to succeed in football. You have to start somewhere and you have to build those foundations. So many academies around the world have got their kids from as young as 10 years old. I already do a lot of work with the Everton academy and the kids are aged from five to six upwards. That gives them a head start on techniques and being coached. I have been supported by David Moyes, who has always been positive to my ideas. My book company too has been teaching kids to read and that is all part of the education and charity.  

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