TIM Cahill arrived at Millwall with the side 12 points off the top six and then declared: “We can’t be beat.”
That’s according to his Lions and Australian team-mate James Meredith, who described the icon’s influence at Millwall to the press on international duty.
Millwall haven’t lost since Cahill’s arrival, and currently sit four points off the play-offs.
The pair are hoping to feature in friendlies against Norway and Colombia.
“He brings such a positive vibe,” Meredith told the Herald Sun. “He said to me, ‘we’re not going to lose, we can’t be beat’. I thought, ‘that’s a bit strong, there’s a lot of good teams in this league’.
“But he’s not been wrong, we’ve gone from strength to strength. He had that belief and foresight. Team spirit has gone up, after every game we’re sitting there smiling at each other because everyone thought we’d be battling relegation.
“Unless you are in it, it’s hard to explain it. It’s like a family club, everyone in the team is crazy and a bit weird but it’s a good crazy.”
“He looks great in training, he looks very composed on the ball, in the five-a-sides he scores a lot of goals. The gaffer [Neil Harris] says he will get more minutes, but it’s difficult because we keep winning.
“He’s not had a lot of game time so he’s not had a big impact on the pitch, it’s more off the pitch. He’s given everyone confidence and boosted team spirit.”
Meredith and Cahill are hoping to impress new Socceroos boss Bert van Marwijk – who coached the Netherlands to the 2010 World Cup final – as they target a place on the plane to Russia this summer.
Meredith, 29, has two caps for his country, both in 2015.
He said: “I thought I had a really good debut but for whatever reason I didn’t get [recalled].
“I was 27, I respected the manager’s decision but I really liked the way he played and I was really disappointed at the time because I think I would have boosted my career very quickly.
“Now I just have to do what I always do and that is to work hard, be focused and professional and offer everything I can to the new staff. They’ve been well-received so far by all the lads because of what they have achieved.”
Image: Millwall FC