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Your support makes all the difference.Usain Bolt has been granted a few more months to try and turn his dream of being a professional footballer into reality in Australia.
Central Coast Mariners coach Mike Mulvey said on Thursday that he will wait until January before assessing the progress of eight-time Olympic gold medallist sprinter Bolt, who is set to have his next pre-season match for the Mariners in mid-October.
Bolt, who hopes to earn an A-League contract with the team based north of Sydney, will likely play on 12 October against Sydney league side Macarthur South West United, with the A-League regular season due to start a week later on 19 October.
“If I get to start it will be a big thing for me,” Bolt said. “It shows that the work that I've been putting in since I've been here is really paying off and the coach has confidence in me and he sees the improvement and the work I've been putting in.”
Bolt saw his first action for the Mariners on 31 August, playing 20 minutes against a Central Coast selection side. He played the entire second half against the North Shore Mariners on 19 September, when he again alternated between left wing and striker.
Mulvey said on Thursday that Bolt was progressing well in training and in the Mariners’ friendlies.
“In the initial dispatches [we] talked about [how] he needed time, [and] I said at the time we will give him 12 months if need be,” Mulvey added.
“But I think a reasonable assumption would be around about Christmas time, January, we should be really judging on whether he's really improved or not improved. He's slowly getting there.”
Bolt, 32, officially called time on his illustrious sprint career after the World Athletics Championships in August 2017 and spent time training with Borussia Dortmund, South African club Sundowns and Norwegian side Stromsgodset before joining the Mariners on trial in August.
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