The 23-year-old left-footer, signed by the Mariners this week as an injury replacement for Shane Huke, is unlikely to be part of the squad that plays Phoenix in Wellington this weekend.

But midfielder Cahill could push for selection in the NSW derby against Sydney next week. If he does debut, his road to the A-League could rank alongside Shannon Cole's in the scenic route category.

Cahill, who speaks with the slightest hint of an American accent, is an Australian U17 international from 2003 who, like many, fell through the cracks between the end of the old NSL in early April 2004 and the kick-off to the new A-League in late August 2005.

In his case, he ended up at Dundee in Scotland for a two-week trial. It went sour but an offer of a scholarship in the US proved an intriguing challenge.

"My game improved incredibly in the three years over there. It is incredibly competitive," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

"After a few months, I became like the Americans. They say in America, if you're second you're a loser and it's this attitude throughout the NCAA Division.

"I was coached by Shaun Docking, who's this tough British coach. There are a lot of foreign players in the league and it's very structured. It's like playing for a professional club. And there are incentives if you do well."

Cahill suggests the best collegiate teams would challenge the best in the Aussie state leagues. However, he returned to his hometown Wollongong to play for the Wolves in the NSW Premier League in 2008.

In the back of his mind though was the hope of something bigger. After he was included in FourFourTwo magazine's "10 Best Players Outside The A-League" feature that year, he hit the road again - this time for England in July, 2008.

Cahill added:. "I didn't have anything lined up but I felt like if I was going to play football I would have to give it a real shake.

"I worked part time in a pub and a West End theatre. I trained with Millwall for several months and was lucky enough to impress.

"This opened up some doors and Ian Crook invited me in at Norwich City where again I worked hard and was happy with how I performed.

"I was in London when I got the word that Central Coast were interested in having a look at me. David Valensisi from Zenith Sports and Event Management (Europe) worked really hard on my behalf and managed to get me in front of Ian Crook for a few weeks at Norwich.

"From there it just snowballed. I have a feeling that's how it came about although I really don't know what happened behind the scenes.

"My future was still up in the air when I got the invite to train with the Mariners. I was really excited and got back to Australia as soon as I could."

Cahill admits he's been rusty this week, saying he wasn't totally happy with his first week's training in such a professional environment.

But it's an environment he's dreamed about after being on the fringes for most of his career.

"The chance to play in the A League is massive for me, after all a chance is all I have ever wanted," said Cahill, who is looking at a career in the media and corporate world after his football days are over.

"I had to work really hard for this opportunity. In the last five years I have learnt that to have a career in football you have to take the good with the bad ... and then some."