CELTIC hero Tom Rogic has five games to book a place in Australia’s World Cup Finals squad for Qatar next month.
The 29-year-old playmaker is now counting down the matches before international head coach Graham Arnold names his pool of players for the soccer showpiece.
Rogic, who left Parkhead in May after nine and a half years in which he won 16 honours, joined struggling Championship side West Brom last month after his self-imposed exile as he searched for a new club.
FAREWELL TO PARADISE…Tom Rogic and Ange Postecoglou celebrate Celtic’s title win after the 6-0 victory over Motherwell on May 14.
The clock is ticking down, though, with the playmaker struggling for game time at the Hawthorns after coming on as a 59th-minute substitute in the team’s latest setback, the 2-0 home loss to Bristol City on Tuesday.
Steve Bruce, the manager who brought the player to the Midlands, was sacked last week which could leave Rogic at the crossroads as the club look for a full-time replacement. Richard Beale is in caretaker charge at the moment.
Rogic didn’t feature in the vital World Cup qualifying wins over the UAE and Peru in June due to “personal reasons” and was overlooked for the two recent friendlies against New Zealand.
Back in August, Socceroos gaffer Arnold warned: “He needs games and match fitness to get picked for Qatar.”
WAITING FOR THE CALL…Tom Rogic’s World Cup Finals hope.
The boss has confirmed 15 players have already cemented their place in his squad – Aaron Mooy almost certainly among them – but it is believed Rogic is NOT on the list.
Arnold will name his final pool of 26 players on November 14.
Rogic’s five-game countdown begins at Millwall tomorrow and there is another away match against Queens Park Rangers with three at home versus Sheffield United, Blackpool and Stoke City.
Celtic fans everywhere will wish their former favourite good luck as he attempts to perform among football’s elite in Qatar next month.
