Marco Rojas has admitted he did not reach the fitness levels required by Melbourne Victory in his first year at the club and has vowed to be physically ready for next season.
Marco Rojas has admitted he did not reached the fitness levels required by Melbourne Victory in his first year at the club and has vowed to be physically ready for next season.
When Rojas joined Victory from Wellington Phoenix prior to last season, the New Zealander came to Melbourne with plenty of fanfare on the back of a number of impressive performances in the 2010/11 season.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has admitted, however, that his first season with Victory did not go according to plan.
“I’ll be the first to say that it wasn’t a very good season,” Rojas said.
“I mean it had its ups and it had its downs but pretty inconsistent.
“I’ve got to work on making sure that I’m physically ready week in, week out to produce as good as I can.”
Rojas played 24 of Victory’s 27 matches last season but only started 15 and failed to score a goal.
Speaking during Melbourne’s preparations for next season, the tiny playmaker revealed that he did not reach the fitness levels needed to consistently succeed at Hyundai A-League level.
“It was tough because at times I couldn’t get many games in a row and I couldn’t really get the match fitness,” Rojas said.
“But I’ve been working hard already and I started (preseason) even earlier (than the rest of Melbourne’s players) to make sure I’m in top shape, so when the season comes there won’t be anything stopping me from playing, hopefully, the best that I can.”
