Ruben Zadkovich is proud of the way the six Jets players currently in camp with the Socceroos have acquitted themselves.
Hunter ports Newcastle Jets captain Ruben Zadkovich says he is proud of the manner in which the six Newcastle Jets players currently in camp with the Socceroos have acquitted themselves this week.
The Jets have the strongest representation of any A-League Club in Holger Osieck-s 20-man Australian-based squad, with Zadkovich, Craig Goodwin, Mark Birighitti, Adam Taggart, Josh Brillante and Andrew Hoole all taking part in the camp.
“I-m very proud of those boys and the way they-ve been training,” Zadkovich said.
“We all stick together and get along great and it-s just nice to see us all wearing the green and gold tracksuit around the hotel.
“It-s a very good thing for Newcastle to have so many players in this squad and it-s probably a testament to Gary for giving them the opportunity to play in the A-League last year.
“The boys have adapted to playing at that level week-in, week-out and have come a long way in a short space of time.”
Having made one senior appearance for the Socceroos in a World Cup Qualifier against China in 2008, Zadkovich said he was savouring the opportunity to be back in the national team set-up.
“I-ve had a lot of time in these kind of camps,” Zadkovich explained.
“When I was younger I spent three or four years in these Socceroo camps and I think I learned a lot back then.
“Now being a little bit more experienced, things seem to go a little bit easier and it seems like a pretty natural place to be.
“To be honest, the last three years at Newcastle have gone really well for me and it-s just nice to be back in the mix.”
Osieck will name his final Socceroos squad to compete for the EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 on Friday.
“At the moment I-m just taking it one day at a time and I-m not looking too far ahead,” Zadkovich said.
“There are a lot of good players here and I-m not sure what they-re going to do in terms of cutting players for the final squad.
“I feel like I-ve been doing quite well in training and it-s just a matter of me working hard and showing what I-ve got.”
