Clock ticks, but coach unfazed

THE ticking of the World Cup clock does not make Australian coach Bert van Marwijk nervous.

Van Marwijk has spent the first week of camp at Antalya, on the Mediterranean coastline of southern Turkey, whipping the Socceroos into shape.

His 27-man training squad is complete with the arrival of captain Mile Jedinak and goalkeeper Danny Vukovic.

But soon he will cut four players, with Australia’s final 23-man World Cup to be announced on Monday.

“I am not nervous, but when I started I wanted to start with all players,” van Marwijk told Optus Sport in Turkey.

“The first mission we have is to get them all on the same physical level. That is not so easy because players (are) coming back from injury, it’s a very big difference and you want to prepare.

“But you don’t have a lot of time. That is my problem.

“I knew it before. I knew I can’t change it. I cannot blame anybody. But I’m happy everybody is here and I can train with all players.”

The Socceroos are entering their final phase of World Cup preparations, with a friendly against Czech Republic tomorrow.

The fixture will be van Marwijk’s third in charge of the Socceroos, following a 4-1 loss to Norway and a scoreless draw against Colombia in March. He will announce his final squad on Monday with another friendly, against Hungary, on June 9, before Australia’s June 16 World Cup opener against France.

Van Marwijk, whose 40thranked team also plays Denmark and Peru, has tried to fast-track fitness levels with an intense bootcamp.