Central Coast coach Nick Montgomery says Nicolai Muller is starting to find his form and has a huge role to play for the rest of the season.
The Mariners are priced at 9/2 to finish in the top six of the A-League and Muller could be key to their chances of playing finals football at the end of the year.
Muller arrived at the club in the off-season but missed early parts of the campaign after suffering through illness and injury.
Thankfully for the Mariners he is back to fitness and putting in some fine performances as Montgomery's men attempt to climb the A-League ladder.
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Montgomery is delighted with Muller's performances and is hoping he can have a strong end to the campaign.
"He had a really tough first half of the season with sickness and the hamstring injury but he's come on strong," Montgomery said.
"I felt two games in a short space of time, it was good to have his impact and experience because we are always throwing on kids at the end and that's when we need to manage the game. He's going to be important for us in this second part of the season."
The Mariners, who sit in eighth place on the ladder, take on Perth Glory in the west on Tuesday night and need a positive result to boost their top-six hopes.
Youngsters Harry McCarthy, James Bayliss and Dor Jok have been added to the squad as Montgomery could be without one or two senior players.
"We'll put together the squad that I feel is strong enough to go to Perth and get a result," Montgomery added.
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