“Lachie has got the world at his feet,” Santalab told The World Game. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s a typical number nine and, to be at this level at his age with his strength and power, I feel that Lachie can take his game to great heights and different levels, most likely overseas.
“He’ll be one to look out for this season, for sure, and he’s in the Young Socceroos set-up as well. He’s doing great.
“Lachie scored two goals in the FFA Cup on his debut, so he’s flying high with confidence. He scored another one on Wednesday night when we had a trial game against Canberra FC.”
Striker Santalab, 33, and Scott have formed a close bond. Scott recently told The World Game how Santalab had taken him aside to offer advice, which the youngster appreciated enormously.
“He said ‘come and we’ll get a coffee and talk’, so we did,” Scott said. “We went to a cafe after training and he talked to me about how to be professional and how to improve yourself and it was very good of him.
“He gave me some really good advice. One of the things he said was how important it was to always be ready. He was talking about whether you know you’re starting or you’re coming off the bench, which he did a lot last season and scored a lot of goals doing.”
Santalab said he received similar help when he was young and that he wanted to be that same guiding light now.
“When I was coming through I got help from the older boys and some overseas players as well in the squad I was in,” he said. “It’s important experienced players like myself guide the young players in the right direction as well.”
It remains to be seen what the blend up front will be for Wanderers this season, with Santalab very reliable as either a starter or impact player off the bench, Scott developing nicely and Kerem Bulut training at the club and presumably only having to show the right attitude to get a contract.
That would appear to rule out earlier suggestions the club would look for another overseas player as a marquee striker.
“If they sign Kerem that’s three of us and I don’t think you would sign a fourth,” Santalab said. “Between the three of us in the A-League and the Asian Champions League we’re all going to be required at some point. It’s going to be an exciting year, being part of the ACL again.”
Santalab said the Wanderers were very encouraged by their pre-season form in trial games and the FFA Cup round of 32 win over Wellington Phoenix.
“We beat Canberra FC 3-1 down there and that made it four wins from four games in pre-season now,” he said. “Brisbane Roar, Wellington, the Young Socceroos and Canberra FC. It’s been a great start with what is once again a new squad.
“I think to be gelling the way we are already at this stage is a huge positive for us. We’ve obviously had a number of changes to the squad and that’s never easy, but we’ve got some great people who have come in.
“It feels like the foreign players who have joined have been here for a few years, so that just speaks volumes for their professionalism and adaptability.
“Aritz (Borda), Bruno (Pinatares) and Jumpei (Kusukami) have all been heavily involved in what we’re doing. We’ve been working hard in pre-season on how we want to play and getting them to adapt and so far it has all gone very well.”
