A nine out of 10 for Holger Osieck in his first game on home soil. The only blot on an otherwise perfect night against Paraguay was his continued reluctance to use his substitutes. Not good news for the fringe players trying to force their way into the Asian Cup squad, but otherwise it's all positive for the new Socceroos regime. Results have been good, performances are progressing, and morale is skyrocketing. But what's especially refreshing about Osieck is that he gets it in a way Pim Verbeek never could, or would. The German is willing to balance his own objectives with the wider mandate.

So far, so good. Australian fans, and the players themselves, want to see a national team prepared to attack. That's how the Socceroos will get their mojo back. Verbeek's risk-averse tactics drove the fans away. Saturday night's crowd at Sydney Football Stadium - 687 paying customers short of the attendance at the A-League match 24 hours earlier - showed how much damage has been done. It's going to take time to win back the public's affection, but at least Osieck is setting the right course. Set the team up to entertain, and the word will get out. More of what we saw against Paraguay, and the fans will start drifting back.

Osieck's other important task is to rebuild bridges to the A-League. When the game ended on Saturday, he had eight players on the field who either play in the domestic league, or have graduated from it. Among them the match-winner David Carney, and the team's best four players on the night - Jason Culina, Mile Jedinak, Jade North and Jon McKain. There is no better show of faith. Verbeek denigrated the A-League, but Osieck is happy to embrace it. For the best reason of all: because the national team will benefit.

It's a happy camp these days, that's for sure. Austerity measures instituted by the FFA have stripped away some of the fat surrounding the team - smaller squad sizes, less support staff - and it's a leaner, meaner, machine. The players who have lived on reputation are on notice, and that's a good thing. Osieck might be waiting until after the Asian Cup to fundamentally rejuvenate an ageing squad, but it's going to happen - not least because the FFA is encouraging it. In the meantime there is a new-found sense of urgency, and hunger, about the Socceroos. It's a credit to the players - even those who suspect they might eventually become surplus to requirements - that they have taken the message on board.

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Certainly, there wasn't a lot wrong with the performance against a very good Paraguayan side. Culina and Jedinak were the fulcrum, North and McKain the foundation, and Carney and Luke Wilkshire played high to provide one of the key ingredients missing under Verbeek - width. Paraguay, who fielded half their World Cup squad, dominated the opening 20 minutes, but thereafter struggled to get a toehold in the game. Australia's best chances might have come from set pieces, but it was sheer persistence that wore down the South Americans. The Socceroos attacked in waves, and it's not often we've been able to say that.

There are still issues, of course. Osieck still needs to find a goal scorer apart from Tim Cahill, while Carney will always be a better midfielder than fullback. But an important threshold is being crossed - wanting to win instead of not wanting to lose. It's nice to know a German coach understands the Australian way.