Alston, who often was forced to play as a lone striker under manager Rale Rasic and did so at the 1974 World Cup, has compared McDonald's current frustrations with his own under one of Australia's greatest ever tacticians.

McDonald has in the past urged national team boss Pim Verbeek to play him in a two-striker system alongside Joshua Kennedy, though the Dutchman has mostly played with a lone target man during Australia's qualification campaign for South Africa.

His last two link-ups with the national team highlighted his plight when midfielder Tim Cahill was preferred to him upfront in the scoreless draw away against Japan and he was replaced by - rather than supplemented with - Joshua Kennedy in the recent 2-0 home win over Uzbekistan.

But Alston has defended Verbeek's choices, saying the Socceroos have little alternative than to play with extra men in midfield.

"Where is Australia strongest? We are very strong in midfield without a doubt," the '74 Socceroo said. "[Our midfielders are] very fit, athletic and talented players and therefore I'm sure he'll be playing five in midfield.

"If you were to look at it the other way - that McDonald should be playing - then who do you want to leave out of midfield?

"Do you want to leave Bresciano out? Do you want to leave Kewell out? Of course you don't."

The former Luton Town and St. George player described his time under Rasic as one in which his role was clearly defined; Alston admits to not having been sent out at the '74 World Cup as a goal-scorer but rather as part of a collective defensive effort.

His role in the campaign in Germany would widely be viewed as one involving great sacrifice - something that he believes McDonald must embrace.

"Of course you can [empathise] with him," Alston said. "[But] he has to realize sometimes that you're just a team player and not a goal-scorer all the time and that you should just be happy playing. You get sacrificed all the time.

"Sometimes you're played in one role and all you're doing is working your socks off just to make sure that they don't come out of defence really quickly, or making chances for somebody else just by making good runs."

McDonald has had some experience with the national team in a lone striker role, having performed admirably against Uzbekistan in Sydney before being replaced.

He is yet to score his first goal in an Australia jersey despite being so prolific for club side Celtic, on a domestic scene Alston believes is totally different to the international arena.

He added: "He plays in Scotland and he scores every week and the football is different. You don't get anywhere near as many chances [paying for Australia] as you do in Scotland.

"Also the people that you're playing against are much, much better - I don't care what anybody says, international football is a different class."

Alston believes Verbeek is likely to prefer either Joshua Kennedy or Mark Viduka as a lone striker to McDonald by virtue of their conspicuous physical advantage, despite the fact that the latter is "a strong young man".

"It does help to have the physique to be tall and to be able to fend the defenders off," Alston said. "He's quite a strong young man but the ball has to be delivered to him differently.

"He just has to put up with that and organize himself accordingly and listen to what the boss says. It's for the country, it's not for yourself.

"As a player, as a professional he has to be ready for that."