Having been brought to Sydney FC in January to score goals, striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos admits he hasn\u2019t delivered for the Sky Blues.<\/p>\n
On loan from Scottish Premiership club Motherwell, Stamatelopoulos has found the back of the net only twice in 10 appearances for the Sydneysiders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been happy with my overall performances, but in terms of the goalscoring, it has not been great by my standard,\u201d the 27-year-old marksman said ahead of Sydney\u2019s A-League elimination final battle with Melbourne Victory on Saturday night at AAMI Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has just been about (not) gelling with teammates, and them (not) knowing what I like, and the service that I like and need.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Stamatelopoulos \u2013 who scored 17 times in 25 appearances for Newcastle in the 2023-24 season before his move to Scotland \u2013 has sensed a shift since Patrick Kisnorbo took over from Ufuk Talay as Sydney coach last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince \u2018PK\u2019 has come in, it\u2019s gotten a lot better, and in the (2-0) win over the Wanderers (on April 11), we really saw it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s what I needed really. Once we break and we know that we\u2019ve gotten past the first line, just go forward and break quickly, which suits me to a tee.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinking up with teammates, that\u2019s the part that hasn\u2019t always been great in the final third. If we can get that right come this weekend and hopefully for the rest of the finals, we\u2019ll be sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stamatelopoulos\u2019 lack of goals has also harmed his chances of forcing his way into the Socceroos\u2019 FIFA World Cup squad.<\/p>\n
However, the Adelaide product was adamant that going to the World Cup wasn\u2019t his motivation for wanting to return to the A-League mid-season after a frustrating few months at Motherwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t thought about the World Cup at all. The reason for me coming home was purely just for game time,\u201d said Stamatelopoulos, who has one Socceroos cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to get back to playing football and enjoying my football. It had nothing to do with the national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I have a big finals series, anything can happen, but I\u2019m not holding my breath (about going to the World Cup). I just want to play good football, and then if we do have a good finals series, take that into next season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stamatelopoulos \u2013 who is set to return on Saturday from a calf injury that kept him out Sydney\u2019s 2-2 home draw last Sunday with Auckland FC \u2013 said that this stage he would be returning to Scotland in June ahead of the start of pre-season training with Motherwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to next season back over there. I love the club there and I love the club here. I\u2019m in a good place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n