Bert van Marwijk has been insistent that time is the enemy as he and van Bommel attempt to mold a Socceroos squad to take on the World Cup in just a few months.

Their combined pedigree, however, is hard to argue with. When van Marwijk made the World Cup final as coach of the Netherlands in 2010, van Bommel was a key figure within the side.

The 40-year-old is a UEFA Champions League winner, as well as notching Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A titles with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and A.C Milan respectively. So he's used to successful teams, to say the least.

"If we had longer it's always a nice excuse, but we're going to try to explain as quick as possible how we'd like to play," van Bommel said.

"It's a good level and a good style.

"I worked with Guus Hiddink and Pim Verbeek but we didn't speak with them before we came here. We didn't have a really clear view, but we (already) knew a lot.

"For us, hopefully we can learn even more then we knew already."

Van Bommel was generally impressed with the Socceroos squad, who managed a win and a draw against he and van Marwijk's Saudi Arabia squad during World Cup qualification.

He said team ethic would be a deciding factor.

"If we (only) have good players, you don't have a good team. If you have a good team, then you have better players," he said.

"If you only pick the 11 best players, you won't have a good team.

"We're going try to develop the team as quick as possible. It was a little difficult (during our time with Saudi Arabia) because we won against every opponent, but we drew in Jeddah and lost in Adelaide."

Finally, the Dutch veteran extended his nous to Tim Cahill, who faces an uncertain future after van Marwijk's recent claims that he wasn't guaranteed a spot at the World Cup.

"I don't think I played against him, but he's really famous, even in Holland," van Bommel said.

"It doesn't matter your age, I'm 40 and I wish I could still be playing. If you're 18 and you're good you can play, 38 and you can play.

"It doesn't matter."