Central Coast coach Nick Montgomery hopes Nicolai Muller can continue his impressive run of form as the Mariners travel to face Perth on Tuesday.
Muller missed big chunks of the early part of the A-League Men season with injury and COVID-19 but has begun to make an impact on the Mariners' performances.
The German has scored in his past two games for the Mariners and Montgomery was pleased with the midfielder's efforts.
"He had a really tough first half of the season with COVID-19 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.
Montgomery's side have only won one game since Christmas with the Mariners' early-season form taking a nosedive after the club was heavily impacted by outbreaks of COVID-19.
But over the last week they've shown the potential to turn the tide with a win over Brisbane and a draw with Melbourne Victory.
Currently sitting in eighth spot, the Mariners will head to Perth with some of the club's youngsters included in the wider squad due to unavailability enforced by Western Australia's border restrictions.
Harry McCarthy, James Bayliss and Dor Jok have been taken in Montgomery's travelling party.
WA doesn't permit entry without triple vaccination, with Montgomery conceding the tough stance may limit his team selection.
"We'll look at the squad because there's a couple of issues because if you aren't triple jabbed you can't travel to Perth," he said.
"That's possibly an issue for a couple of players and everyone's got the right to make those decisions.
"We'll put together the squad that I feel is strong enough to go to Perth and get a result."
