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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