Having been brought to Sydney FC in January to score goals, striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos admits he hasn’t delivered for the Sky Blues.
On loan from Scottish Premiership club Motherwell, Stamatelopoulos has found the back of the net only twice in 10 appearances for the Sydneysiders.
“I’ve been happy with my overall performances, but in terms of the goalscoring, it has not been great by my standard,” the 27-year-old marksman said ahead of Sydney’s A-League elimination final battle with Melbourne Victory on Saturday night at AAMI Park.
“It has just been about (not) gelling with teammates, and them (not) knowing what I like, and the service that I like and need.”
However, Stamatelopoulos – who scored 17 times in 25 appearances for Newcastle in the 2023-24 season before his move to Scotland – has sensed a shift since Patrick Kisnorbo took over from Ufuk Talay as Sydney coach last month.
“Since ‘PK’ has come in, it’s gotten a lot better, and in the (2-0) win over the Wanderers (on April 11), we really saw it,” he said.
“That’s what I needed really. Once we break and we know that we’ve gotten past the first line, just go forward and break quickly, which suits me to a tee.
“Linking up with teammates, that’s the part that hasn’t always been great in the final third. If we can get that right come this weekend and hopefully for the rest of the finals, we’ll be sweet.”
Stamatelopoulos’ lack of goals has also harmed his chances of forcing his way into the Socceroos’ FIFA World Cup squad.
However, the Adelaide product was adamant that going to the World Cup wasn’t his motivation for wanting to return to the A-League mid-season after a frustrating few months at Motherwell.
“I haven’t thought about the World Cup at all. The reason for me coming home was purely just for game time,” said Stamatelopoulos, who has one Socceroos cap.
“I wanted to get back to playing football and enjoying my football. It had nothing to do with the national team.
“If I have a big finals series, anything can happen, but I’m not holding my breath (about going to the World Cup). I just want to play good football, and then if we do have a good finals series, take that into next season.”
Stamatelopoulos – who is set to return on Saturday from a calf injury that kept him out Sydney’s 2-2 home draw last Sunday with Auckland FC – said that this stage he would be returning to Scotland in June ahead of the start of pre-season training with Motherwell.
“I’m looking forward to next season back over there. I love the club there and I love the club here. I’m in a good place,” he said.
