Stajcic: Depth and versatility key to Westfield Matildas' success

Alen Stajcic believes the new-found depth and versatility of his his Westfield Matildas squad will be key to their success.

Stajcic welcomes back regulars Sam Kerr, Alanna Kennedy, Emily van Egmond and Katrina Gorry as he enjoys easing injury issues ahead of the ‘Seven Consulting International Series’.

READ: Stajcic's full Westfield Matildas squad to take on Chile
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MEET: Westfield Matildas announce open training days in Penrith & Newcastle

The Westfield Matildas welcome Chile to Penrith and Newcastle and Stajcic is relishing the options now available to him.

He said: "I’ve spoken about depth for a number of years, players being versatile, playing in different positions and the amount of players I’ve got fighting for positions.

"I think that is the most important thing for this team being competitive moving forward, not just for next year’s World Cup but beyond.

"The more depth, the more competition, the more flexibility, the more versatility with have in this team the greater chance we have of being successful for a longer time."

The Westfield Matildas made it to the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup but went out to Japan amid physically draining conditions - something  Stajcic believes his squad are now better prepared for.

"Probably at the last World Cup, if we reflect back, we probably got tired by going five," he added. 

"We were probably unlucky by facing five big guns one after another but certainly having depth, versatility and flexibility in every position is a key factor in our team.

"We’ve seen a lot of players play in two positions so having that flexibility within our team has certainly been a strength.

"On average we’ve had about seven to eight injuries to per game but we’ve still maintained a fair good level throughout, all against top nations, and you can only do that with the depth we’ve developed in our team."