LIRIDON Krasniqi hopes he has shown enough to earn a promotion to Newcastle's starting side for Saturday's clash with Melbourne Victory at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Kosovo international has played four times off the bench since the Jets secured him on loan from Malaysia in February, most recently a 21-minute stint in Monday's 1-0 loss to Western United, in which he showed some nice touches.
In the absence of senior midfielders Ben Kantarovski and Steven Ugarkovic, Jets coach Craig Deans was pleased with the new-look, youthful combination of Angus Thurgate, Luka Prso and Ramy Najjarine against Western.
But he also indicated Krasniqi was in the mix for a starting spot, and with Newcastle facing a hectic schedule of three games in nine days, the towering 29-year-old is waiting eagerly for a chance to step up.
"I feel well, I feel good," Krasniqi said.
"The training has been very good. I think I'm ready, and just now it's up to the coaches. But of course I feel ready."
Krasniqi rated the A-League as a higher-standard competition than the Malaysian Premier League, but said his teammates had helped him settle in, on and off the pitch.
"I feel like I've been friends with these guys for ages," he said.
"We have good communication, on the pitch, or outside the pitch. Good lads over here. I really feel like I'm part of the team and look forward to helping the team."
He was open to the possibility of staying on beyond this season.
"My first mission is as soon as possible I want to be in the First XI, and start winning games," he said.
"And then let's see what's going to happen for next season."
After six consecutive defeats, the Jets have slipped to second-last on the ladder, ahead of Victory by three points. And while many fans will view Saturday's showdown as a potential battle for the wooden spoon, Krasniqi was unaware of that particular phrase until Thursday's post-training media interviews.
"At the moment we are not last, we are second last, so of course the situation is like that right now, but we are trying to change those things," he said.
"I am very positive about our team. We have good fellas over here and I think soon things are going to change.
"We're going to eat not with a wooden spoon, but with a gold spoon."
Krasniqi's confident outlook was shared by fellow new signing Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, who said the Jets believe they can turn their season around.
"We still we can make the finals ... if we win most of our games, we still in with a good chance to make the six," he said.
"It's not over until it's over."