TIME lost with his baby daughter - and not the lure of a juicy English Premier League contract - was Brett Holman's driving force to excel in Australia's two away World Cup qualifying matches.

The 27-year-old said since he had become a father to Emma last April, it had become tougher to pack his swag and leave his home in Holland for Socceroos service, this time in Oman and Thailand.

''It wasn't ever all that easy anyway because whenever I played for Australia it meant I was leaving my wife [Femke] behind, but it has become a lot harder now … my wife knows that I miss her … but fatherhood changes everything.

''It doesn't make you less hungry and it doesn't give you more hunger; you work just as hard but what it gives you is a different perspective. While football [and the Socceroos] is everything still, family comes before everything - there's an unconditional love that comes with [it].''

Missing out on what he called the ''moments'' has fuelled his desire to ensure Australia struck a mighty blow at the next World Cup in Brazil.