But he is now determined to make the decision for Michael Valkanis as hard as possible once his teammate finishes serving suspension

Bouzanis cemented his place in the squad under former coach John van’t Schip, who resigned for personal reasons in January, and elected to go with the Aussie over the EPL-experienced Sorensen in Round 2 as the Dane was sent off in Round 1 against Wellington Phoenix.

Sorensen has played three games this season after being recalled twice when he was sent off against the Nix.

Bouzanis suffered a rib injury in the 1-1 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers and the offensive slur towards Besart Berisha in the Melbourne Derby earned him a five-match suspension.

Sorensen will continue in goals as Bouzanis watches in the stands.

The Dane turns 41 in June but said departing did not cross his mind after becoming second-choice in van’t Schip and Valkanis’ plans.

“I’ve always been committed to what we’re trying to achieve here, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” Sorensen said.

“I spent a couple of weeks, disappointed and unhappy but again that’s not what I’m about. I’m a team player and I was there to support Dean all the way through. Sometimes it’s a tough situation being a manager, you can’t make everyone happy.

“John stuck to his beliefs and what he wanted to do, again I was a casualty, but if I hadn’t worked hard, hadn’t stuck in I wouldn’t have had this opportunity now so that’s been my focus – be ready when the call comes.”

Sorensen was greeted with rapturous applause in City’s 2-2 draw Brisbane Roar last Saturday where Valkanis had to make up for seven suspended players while Ivan Franjic and Michael Jakobsen were injured.

The Dane was given the captain's armband on the night.

“When you’re out for a long time, there’s always going to be doubts,” he said.

“You can measure your levels and training, but training is one thing. Games is something else and I think some doubts creep in and then it’s always great to get out there and get yourself tested.

“When I got out there, I felt good before, felt really good when I was there. Great to have experience when you’re in that sort of situation.

“You can dig into that bag of experience and use that, I didn’t feel rusty at all. I felt good, had a big task with a lot of young players, a lot to focus on and got stuck in with the job.”

Sorensen said the style in pressing high at the beginning of the season evolved and circumstances dictated change after positive results early.

He used undefeated Sydney FC as an example, highlighting their discipline in play when they lose possession of the ball.

“When you look at it they’re (Sydney) aware of their job and what they have to do in certain situations,” Sorensen said.

“They work together very well. They’re very well drilled and I think that’s where we sometimes been caught up with everything that goes on when we’re attacking that we haven’t been aware of getting things organised early.

“Being aware of the dangers, see them before they happen and then have a plan of how to deal with them. I think now in the last couple of weeks, a lot of work has been done in that part of it, I thought we saw some good things on Saturday.

“We’re still not there because we got caught in one of the goals. Won’t keep us from conceding, if we can just cut down on a percentage of the goals, it’ll give us a much bigger chance of winning games.”

Fourth-placed City play Wellington on Saturday night.