Harry still in Holger's plans

Harry Kewell has revealed Socceroos boss Holger Osieck has assured him he still has a place in the national set-up despite being left out of the squad for the upcoming friendly against Malaysia and World Cup qualifier against Oman.

Harry Kewell has revealed Qantas Qantas Socceroos boss Holger Osieck has assured him he still has a place in the national set-up despite being left out of the squad for the upcoming friendly against Malaysia and World Cup qualifier against Oman.

Oseick wants Kewell to focus on his club commitments at Melbourne Victory and recover his best fitness and form before being considered for the away matches against Oman and Thailand in November.

"I spoke to him and we had a good chat about the upcoming games and it's fair enough to say that without playing matches it would be a lot to ask for any player to go straight into a qualifying match," Kewell said.

"My first priority is Melbourne Victory at the moment and we both come to the decision to let me get fit for Melbourne and play games for Melbourne and if I do perform well there. I'm up for selection for the next games."

The absence of Kewell and fellow Qantas Qantas Socceroos veteran Brett Emerton from the national squad has cleared the way for them to meet on the opening day of the Hyundai A-League season in a 'classico' between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium.

Kewell can't wait for his first taste of the Hyundai Hyundai A-League in such a highly anticipated match.

"I'm looking forward to it. There's going to be a lot of hype about this game. Especially with me and Brett coming back into the league," he said.

"But I don't think you can shy away from the derby game this is. It's a big game and I've played in some big derbies in my career and I'm sure than this one will be a firecracker."

Victory captain Adrian Leijer said the build-up to the start of the season had been unprecedented in his time in the competition and he is looking forward to leading his side out on Saturday week.

"It's exciting. With the return of Harry and Emmo, it's turned a blockbuster into something amazing," Leijer said.

"It's been a long off season and I think that has led to the build up as well and to see football in this country, stealing pages from the AFL during the middle of finals is fantastic and it's a good indication of where the game's headed."

Kewell felt he had benefitted greatly from his first serious hit out having played 45 minutes in a trial match against Adelaide United last Friday.

"It was tough. It was my first 45 minutes so I wasn't going 100 per cent," he said.

"I enjoyed the way we played. The good thing about the way we played is that we created chances and I think if you play in a team which creates chances then it s happy team. I think that's what we did on Friday."