Jamie Maclaren has responded well to his shock benching, but coach John Aloisi won't reveal if he's done enough to earn a recall to the Brisbane Roar's starting side.
Maclaren was dropped to the bench for the Roar's 3-2 defeat to Melbourne Victory last week, but Aloisi said he was simply resting the fringe Socceroo ahead of a tough upcoming schedule, rather than punishing him for poor form or his refusal to sign a contract extension.
It was only the second time the 23-year-old has been named among Brisbane's substitutes since joining the club, with the only other occasion coming after returning from international duty earlier this season.
However, Aloisi wouldn't say if Maclaren is in line to start in Saturday's away clash against the Wellington Phoenix.
"He hasn't dropped his head at all," Aloisi told reporters on Thursday.
"As any player, they want to start, they want to play.
"The way to prove to a coach you want to play is by performing in training and when you get the opportunity in games that you perform. Jamie's no different to any other player."
Maclaren is the Roar's leading goalscorer wtih seven goals, but has struggled to replicate his scintillating form from last season amid a wrangle between his management and the club over his future.
Asked for his assessment of Maclaren's game, Aloisi said: "It's hard to say whether he's far off (his best) or close.
"I'm going to sometimes start different players because we've got a schedule coming up that's going to be quite hard, with the travel, with the amount of games in a few weeks.
"Sometimes when I leave out players, it'll look like they've been dropped but it's not necessarily the case."
The Roar have lost their last three matches in a row but Aloisi is optimistic things will turn around against the Phoenix, who stunned the Melbourne Victory with a 3-0 upset on Tuesday night.
"Players want to win, I want to win, supporters want us to win. But you can't get blinded by results," he said.
"If the performances were bad and we weren't in any of those games, then you start to worry.
"But after the game against Victory, I couldn't have been prouder of the reaction of the boys."
Aloisi also said it was more than likely former Socceroo Brett Holman would make his return after seven weeks out with a knee injury in next week's home clash against Western Sydney.