After a disrupted start to pre-season, Newcastle Jets forward Marko Jesic says he is beginning to grow in confidence.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets forward Marko Jesic says he is steadily growing in confidence after scoring one goal and setting up another in the Jets- pre-season friendlies last week.
Jesic had a disrupted start to the pre-season as a result of a quadriceps injury, but has been working his way back to peak fitness with increased playing time in recent weeks.
Jesic was one of 12 Jets players who were back in training on Wednesday while the rest of the squad enjoys a week-s rest.
“The first couple of weeks after the injury I-ve slowly been building back into it,” Jesic said.
“It-s probably not where I want it to be just yet, but it-s not too far off either and everything has gone in the right direction so far.
“The extra sessions this week should hopefully put me up there where the other boys are but there-s still another six or seven weeks until the season starts so it should be fine anyway.”
As his match fitness has improved, Jesic has been able to make more of an impact in the Jets- recent trial matches.
He set-up Jobe Wheelhouse-s goal in the Jets- 1-0 win over Rockdale last Tuesday and followed that up with the third goal in the Jets- 3-1 win over Wellington at Thomas and Coffey Park last Saturday.
“Every striker wants to score goals and if not, set one up,” Jesic said.
“If you tick one of those boxes then most of the time you can be pretty happy with your performance.
“I-m slowly getting my confidence back, I-ve only played a few games now and to get a couple of assists and a goal is definitely good for the confidence.”
While Jesic admitted there is plenty of competition for places in the Jets forward line, he said his focus is just to make the most of every opportunity he gets.
“All you can do is your best and see what happens,” he said.
“In terms of attackers and the number of players we have, the more we-ve got, the better.
“It-s a challenge for myself and all the other players to show that we deserve one of those spots by doing the best you can in games and training.”