Few pieces of paper will be as keenly scrutinised at AAMI Park on Friday night as the Melbourne City team-sheet, with fans and media alike scanning to see whether the names Tim Cahill and Ross McCormack are in the starting line-up for the City side that will entertain Perth Glory.
Cahill made it clear following the Socceroos' win over Honduras last week that he wanted more regular game time at City for the rest of the season so as to shore up his place in the Australian World Cup squad.
That is likely to become an ever more acute issue for him when a new coach takes over now that Ange Postecoglou has quit.
McCormack, who is City's leading goalscorer this season so far, was an absentee from last Friday night's 3-1 loss to Brisbane Roar. The club said he had an injury, but there were media reports this week that the Scotsman had been left out for disciplinary reasons.
Coach Warren Joyce on Thursday said that had not been the case, although he did add that if a player at the club was fined or disciplined for a breach of internal rules he wouldn't necessarily tell outsiders.
"There's been a lot of players that you have disciplined internally that you (the media) have not written about ... there's different forms of discipline," he said.
Cahill, inevitably, was the main focus of City's pre-game press conference given the suggestions earlier in the week that he might look to move from the club in the January window to get more game time.
Both he and McCormack were on the squad list the club submitted to the FFA for Friday night's game.
Joyce said the Socceroos legend had trained all week and that he had no problems with him.
"My only concern is people training well and being available for games, how they train and how they play, and how they integrate into the group.
"You want self-motivated players who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the team.
"He (Cahill) has trained this week like the rest of the boys so we have just got to get on with preparing for the game tomorrow."
Asked if Cahill was happy, Joyce, reiterated that his concern was more with his physical wellbeing and readiness to perform for the club.
"You are better asking Tim those questions. My main concern is that he has been out there for training. You can only ask Tim those questions not myself, it's speculation on my behalf.
"I have no problems with Tim Cahill at all. If you want to ask Tim what the relationship is like, ask him ... he has done well when he has come off the bench, and the last game he was available he started."
McCormack's absence was felt in the team's 3-1 loss in Brisbane last week, but Joyce said reports he had been left out for off field reasons were "wrong".
"Ross has had Achilles injuries since he came to the club, he didn't fulfil a full training week last week.
"We already got Marcelo Carusca injured in training last week. We know with Marcin (Budzinski), Carusca and Ross they are not as fit as they can be.
"He has been in at 7am in the morning, swimming, he has been in training, he has trained in the afternoon, he has conducted himself well since he has been at the club to get his life and career back on track.
"If you ask around the dressing room he's a popular lad, he has done everything I have asked him to do. He's more popular (than anyone) with the kitman because he gave his $500 cheque from Fox Sports away because he didn't think he played well when he got man of the match (in the win over Adelaide)."
