Heidelberg United coach George Katsakis disagrees that it’s a structural issue and is dumbfounded as to why his gun striker Kenny Athiu, whose goal knocked Perth out of the FFA Cup, is being ignored.

“I’m not sure how coaches are thinking in the A-League,” Katsakis said. 

“Sometimes you need to give people opportunities and I’m not sure if that comes with the A-League.

“I would have thought having a bigger squad you’d be able to do that and take the punt and gamble sometimes.

“But at this point in time there’s obviously nothing there. Who’s to know, but we have our own plan for Kenny.”

After scoring 37 goals in two seasons for Heidelberg in the Victorian NPL, Athiu is still focused on what he must do to earn that A-League chance.

“I would love to be a professional player. That is my main goal,” Athiu said.

Heidelberg's Kenny Athiu

“I’ve been very happy with my performances this year. As a striker I want to score goals and I have scored quite a few.

“I feel like I’ve worked quite hard this year to be where I am in this moment. That’s all I can do, right? I just have to work hard and see what happens from there.”

South Melbourne’s Marcus Schroen is another NPL player who has been knocking on the door of the A-League and like Athiu will keep playing until an opportunity arises.

“I put myself in the shop window but unfortunately for whatever reason it hasn’t happened,” said the 23-year-old.

“It’s not an easy thing to achieve because there’s limited spots available and the competition is quite high for places.

“There’s a lot of quality around, not only in the NPL Victoria, but throughout the whole country. So competition for spots is tough but you keep plugging away and you never know what’s around the corner.”