UK newspaper The Sun is reporting Verbeek will request the players to make the round trip back to Australia for the Wednesday fixture despite the trio having important Premier League games the weekend prior.

And it seems that it's not just the clubs who are unhappy about having to lose their stars to the international calendar – it's the players themselves.

"If I played for Rovers and then had a game on Wednesday for Australia, it's almost impossible," Blackburn's Brett Emerton told The Sun. "I'd arrive the day before and don't think that's smart anyway."

The Socceroo trio – most likely the first names on Verbeek's team sheet for his initial game in charge – all have crunch matches on Saturday 2 February. Emerton's Blackburn play Everton at home, Harry Kewell's Liverpool play Sunderland at Anfield, while Lucas Neill's West Ham are away to Wigan.

The very earliest the players would be able to arrive in Melbourne would be Monday morning Australia time – and that would mean them having to leave for the airport straight after the conclusion of their Premier League matches.

More realistic is a Monday evening arrival Australian time, giving the players just one full day – and probably two training sessions - before the big match.