Cahill adamant Australia on right track

Tim Cahill has called on the Australian public not to lose faith in the Socceroos ahead of January’s AFC Asian Cup Down Under.

Australia head into the tournament on home soil on the back of another defeat, Cahill’s late goal not enough to prevent a 2-1 loss to Japan in Osaka on Tuesday.

That was the Socceroos’ last hit-out before the Asian Cup, meaning Ange Postecoglou’s troops have managed just one win in 2014 with eight defeats.

It’s left plenty of question marks hanging over the side to do the business on home soil in less than two months but Cahill, who started on the bench in Osaka, is not concerned.

“I took a knock three days ago and if I started I would have needed an injection… so adrenaline is enough to get me through in front of this crowd,” Cahill told Fox Sports.

“I’m proud of the boys because we’ve been asked a lot of questions about our football and whether we can stand up to the criticism.

“Australia just has to believe in what we’re trying to do. At home, in Melbourne, Sydney we’ll have 40,000, everyone will be cheering us on and it will be a different story.

“These chances will turn into goals.”

The Socceroos produced a dominant first half, enjoying more possession than their hosts and carving out a couple of good scoring chances.

But the momentum changed after the break, Cahill conceding the side tired and were made to pay for a few lapses in concentration as Yasuyuki Konno and Shinji Okazaki pounced for the hosts.

“Two set-plays and that’s the difference in international football,” Cahill said.

“But I believe in this team so much. You’ve seen with [Mathew] Leckie’s pace, [Robbie] Kruse’s pace, [James] Troisi’s creativeness we’ve still got it.

“We outplayed them out home in front 40-odd thousand and I’m really proud of the boys.

“We have to be fearless, we’ve got nothing to lose. It’s not about winning right now, it’s going to mean everything come January.”