Adelaide United head coach Gertjan Verbeek is planning for life after Craig Goodwin after the Caltex Socceroos star missed Tuesday’s night friendly against MetroStars.
Verbeek admits he is on the lookout to strengthen the Reds' ranks with the 27-year-old playmaker set to depart Coopers Stadium.
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Goodwin scored 10 goals and made nine assists in 29 games last season but was not present as the Reds beat local side MetroStars 3-1 in Verbeek’s first game in charge at Taperoo Reserve.
Adelaide have brought hometown hero Riley McGree into their 2019/20 Hyundai A-League roster and Verbeek hinted there may be more fresh faces arriving to plug the Goodwin-shaped gap.
“The first squad is not ready yet so we may get some new players.”
“[Craig] Goodwin is also going now, so the starters for now are almost the same from last year,” Verbeek told Adelaide United's official channels.
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McGree made his return in a Reds jersey on Tuesday night as triallist Roland Alberg netted the opener, but the NPL South Australia outfit levelled on 67 minutes through Lachlan Barr.
A 75th-minute penalty from George Blackwood and a late strike from Kusini Yengi ensured the Reds came out on top and Verbeek admits it is early days for his new side.
“I saw a lot of good things, of course I saw a lot of things to improve.”
“The tactical training, we have to do because I have been away for one week with my wedding. After this week we will train more tactically,” he said.
“It’s what I asked of them, I said three things: have a good attitude, work hard and try the way we have spoken about, the way we want to play football. We can discuss it this week and we can train it.”
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