Brandon Borrello knows he must begin the A-League Men season with a bang if he is to win back his place in the Socceroos squad and secure a seat on the plane to Qatar for the Asian Cup.
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Borrello ended a year-long exile from the national side earlier this year when, after scintillating form for the Western Sydney Wanderers, he was called up for friendlies in the March and June windows.
The 28-year-old was overlooked for September's trip to face Mexico, due to the fact the Wanderers were in pre-season training while the squad's Europe-based players had already enjoyed a month of competitive football.
Socceroos boss Graham Arnold has made it clear selecting match-hardened players will remain his policy, leaving Borrello little time to make an impression and earn a ticket to January's Asian Cup.
"The boss didn't have to reach out to me to tell me why he didn't pick me," Borrello told AAP.
"But he did, because that's the type of person he is, and he told me he was still watching.
"When pre-season is on, there's not much you can do - especially with the boys overseas who are firing at the moment.
"The national team has always been picked around whether you're playing.
"I'm ready for the season to start because that's one of my goals; to get back into the Australia squad.
"The only way I do that is by playing games and scoring. I know I've got to hit the ground running."
The Socceroos face England and New Zealand on October 14 and 18 respectively in London, prior to the Wanderers' ALM season kicking off at home to Wellington on October 22.
Borrello has enjoyed a career revival under Wanderers boss Marko Rudan and repaid the club's faith in him last year by delivering 13 goals across 26 ALM games.
The forward says the addition of Olyroos attacking midfielder Lachlan Brook and Swedish striker Marcus Antonsson to the Wanderers' roster will help him increase his goal haul.
"It's going to be an exciting brand of football and we're going to be a lot more flexible in the way we do things," Borrello said.
"Everyone has bought in, saying 'this is the way we are going to play' from day one and (Rudan) has done well in bringing in those players who can play that style of football.
"That's one of the big upgrades and improvements to our squad from last year."
Australian Associated Press
