Stajic was referring to Matildas co-captain Clare Polkinghorne, who has been a desperately unfortunate victim of circumstances due to the combination of an injury sustained at training ahead of Australia's opening match and the form of the defence in her absence.
Polkinghorne wasn't considered for the first two matches of the group stage because of a hamstring problem.
The Matildas opened with a 3-1 loss to USA, but Stajcic then made adjustments to the defence and the Aussies beat Nigeria 2-0.
He left the defence as it was even though Polkinghorne was available again after that game and it was resolute, both in a 1-1 draw with Sweden to clinch a place in the round of 16 and then a 1-0 win over Brazil to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Had Polkinghorne not been injured, she could easily be starring in Australia's campaign, but the timing was awful for her and Stajcic has stuck with the defenders who have so far done the job in a decision that is completely understandable.
It remains to be seen whether Polkinghorne gets on the field - either as a starter, or as a substitute - in the quarter-final against Japan at Edmonton on Sunday (AEST).
But, whatever happens, Stajcic said 26-year-old Polkinghorne's attitude had been outstanding and that despite the fact she hadn't played so far she had been selfless in her support for her team-mates.
"I'm not sure if Clare will play in the next game," Stajcic told The World Game.
"She was ruled out for the first two, so she's been available for the last two. It was just a niggling little hammy.
"She probably could have played against Nigeria, if we had wished, but I didn't think chasing some of these quick Nigerians was a good idea with a touchy hammy.
"The unfortunate thing for Clare is that the players who have played in her role have been superb and I'm not going to change someone over who's in good form and is displaying good qualities within our team.
"It's up to her to take her chance when she gets it, but I've got to say I can't give any player in the team higher praise than what I can Clare.
"She has been an absolutely phenomenal leader around the team - extremely supportive, influential in all the right ways, just a great person to have in the team.
"For her, it's probably a tough time as an individual, but no-one in the team can tell. She's just been a tremendously positive influence."
A weaker coach may have slotted Polkinghorne straight back into the team as soon as he could, for fear of not rocking the boat with the rest of the squad when it came to a well-respected and popular player. But Stajcic clearly isn't a weak coach.
It is also clear that he has developed a tremendous understanding with his players and that they readily accept that whatever decisions he makes regarding selections are for the good of the team.
Asked if Polkinghorne understood this is just the way it is, Stajcic replied: "Yeah, she does. Look, I'm sure behind closed doors it obviously hurts her, not playing, but again I can't speak highly enough of how well she has handled the situation and acted within the team and the group.
"Before matches, after matches, the positive appraisals from her, the extra bits of advice to certain players, always picking people up if they're a bit down, despite what she's feeling herself.
"It's exactly what you want in a leader and while I'm proud of all the players in the team I'm probably proudest of how Clare has conducted herself over the last couple of weeks."
Stajcic said that since taking over as Matildas coach last year he had employed a strategy designed to convince the players that if they wanted to take the next step they had to re-evaluate the way they went about their whole lives and not just their football.
"I always had faith that would work," Stajcic said.
"I always believed I could have an influence that way and encourage the players to believe you have to try your hardest in all areas of your life if you want to succeed in one particular area.
"Everyone else is seeing the evidence of that attitude from the players now.
"There was a culture we wanted to establish within the group and the players all responded and we're starting to see the outcome of their behaviours and their training and the way they're carrying themselves on and off the field.
"They've got positive reinforcements now and that means the culture will be well entrenched. Originally, we got good buy-in from the players, but now the fact we've got good results reinforces the whole process with them."
Stajcic said he firmly believed that if the Matildas were on their game they could beat Japan.
"Yeah, definitely," he said. "It probably gave me the most belief, to be honest, the first time I coached the team last year at the Asian Cup and we had a 2-2 draw with Japan after we were 2-0 up and should have won the game.
"Then, in the final against them 10 days later we lost 1-0, but it was definitely a 50-50 game we could have won.
"We had as many chances as they did and for me, as a coach, I got a belief that all the things I had put in place could work tactically and technically and the players believed they could compete with the current world champions.
"So it was a really positive experience for me, that interim role, and it laid a good platform for when I took the job on full-time and we started this whole process on January 12 this year."
