A “ruthless” Tim Cahill says he has no intentions of slowing down at international level after another match-winning performance for the Socceroos on Tuesday night in their World Cup qualifier in Dhaka.
Cahill bagged a first-half hat-trick to help batter Bangladesh 4-0, taking his international tally to 45 goals in just 88 appearances.
MATCH REPORT: Cahill the hero as Socceroos win in Dhaka
Despite being just a few weeks short of his 36th birthday, Cahill says he plans to continue to be a key contributor for the national team for a while yet.
“For me it’s professionalism. People always ask the question ‘when is he going to stand down? Is someone going to stand up?’,” Cahill told Fox Sports afterwards.
“I’m here to help these [young] boys. I’m here to help push them as far as I can. Tomi Juric got injured, [Tom] Rogic got injured and if players aren’t going to play, I’m there.
“That’s the biggest thing for me, I will always play for my country. Everyone knows I’m not here to make up the numbers.
“I’m here to support but overall tonight I’ve been ruthless. I know I missed a few chances as well but for me it’s only going to get better because I feel my body is in a great place.”
It took just six minutes for Cahill to put the Socceroos in front, heading home from Aaron Mooy’s pinpoint free-kick.
He added two more in a five-minute period before the break, with goal-poacher’s finishes from close range.
But the Socceroos were unable to add to the tally after the break as the intensity dropped and the home side defended in big numbers.
“It was a great result, it’s been difficult circumstances but overall I’m disappointed with the second half,” Cahill conceded.
“I felt we could have done a lot better if we had stuck to the game plan and been ruthless.
“In these games you come away too difficult places to get the right result but it’s always great to score goals because that’s what I do.”
Cahill credited the Chinese Super League competition for keeping him in tip-top shape and says he’s “pumped” to head back there for final part of their season – the FA Cup final.
“Hopefully I can do something special for my club and [qualify] for the Asian Champions League and play against a few A-League teams,” he said.