The best of Alex Meier to come

Head coach Markus Babbel has no doubts the Wanderers faithful will see the best of marquee Alex Meier sooner rather later.

The German striker debuted for the club in the 2-1 win over Central Coast Mariners in the opening game of the season last Saturday, getting 58 minutes into his legs before being replaced by Mo Adam.

While chances were few and far between for Meier, he nonetheless put in a solid shift in his time on the pitch and will be fitter and stronger for Friday night’s game away to Melbourne Victory.

Babbel admitted fans did not see Meier at his best against the Mariners, but there were contributing factors given he had only been training with the club for three weeks and had precious little game time to get used to his new teammates.

“It was difficult for him but also a few other players,” said Babbel.

“Alex joined us late, other players were injured in pre-season and came late. But, they have quality and you have to bring them on the pitch to get 100 percent (fit).

“To be fair, this was not his (type) of game because he is a player who, in the box, can be unbelievable.

“But, we were not often in the box and that is something we have to work on it to create more chances so he can have more presence in the box and around the box … then you will see his strength.”

KWAME YEBOAH A CHANCE TO RETURN TO SQUAD

Babbel gave an update on the injured players, confirming that Patrick Ziegler, Tarek Elrich and Bruce Kamau will be unavailable against Victory.

“Maybe Kwame (Yeboah) can come back into contention, I am not 100 per cent sure,” he added.

“We will see what happens on the (training) pitch. I hope he comes back because at the moment we don’t have a big squad.”

With Elrich expected to be sidelined for several weeks, Wanderers Academy graduate Daniel Wilmering could be in line for his starting debut for the club in the A-League. He replaced Elrich after just 16 minutes against the Mariners and did a fine job.