A FORMER coach of Thomas Broich in Germany wants to reunite with the star Roar playmaker in Brisbane.

Michael Oenning, who worked with Broich at Borussia Monchengladbach and Nurnberg, has put his hand up to coach the Roar next season.

Representatives of Oenning have made contact with the Roar regarding the 49-year-old’s interest in replacing interim Brisbane coach Frans Thijssen but are still awaiting a response from club officials.

An assistant at Monchengladbach and Wolfsburg, Oenning was head coach at Nurnberg for 54 matches between August 2008 and December 2009.

In that time he guided Nurnberg to promotion into the Bundesliga before being sacked a few months into the 2009-10 season, which was Broich’s final campaign in Germany before his move to Brisbane.

Oenning’s most recent coaching job was in 2011 with Hamburg, where he was axed after only 15 games in charge.

Since then he has worked as a football pundit on German television, but is keen to reignite his coaching career.

A request by The Courier-Mail to speak to Roar football director Ken Stead regarding the coaching position at Brisbane was rejected.

media_camera Brisbane Roar star Thomas Broich.

Thijssen has had mixed fortunes since replacing sacked championship-winning coach Mike Mulvey in November.

In 19 A-League and AFC Champions League matches, Thijssen has won seven, lost seven and drawn five.

The loss tally has piled up in recent weeks, with Brisbane having tasted defeat in four successive A-League matches to all but fall out of finals contention.

Brisbane are desperate to return to form on Thursday night when they host fellow battlers Central Coast Mariners at Suncorp Stadium.

The Roar yesterday named a 16-man squad for tonight’s clash, and it did not include Broich (ankle), Socceroos pair Matt McKay and Luke DeVere, and Olyroos duo James Donachie and Corey Brown.

However, Broich, who has missed Brisbane’s past four matches in all competitions, remains hopeful of playing tonight.

McKay and DeVere, who were due to arrive home from international duty in Europe in the early hours of Thursday morning are also a chance to feature tonight.

Donachie and Brown are considered less likely to be added to the squad due to their later arrival from Chinese Taipei.

Experienced Brisbane defender Jade North said the Roar would field their strongest possible 11 tonight as they cling to the unlikely hope of playing finals football for a fifth successive season.

“Every game now in the domestic league is a must-win,” said North, whose Brisbane team is eight points outside the top six.

“There’s still a glimmer of hope – we’ve just got to keep playing.”

Meanwhile, the Roar have been fined an undisclosed amount by the Asian Football Confederation for a banner in the crowd during Brisbane’s 1-0 Champions League win over Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds at Saitama Stadium on March 4.

The banner, which had the words “having a whale of a time”, violated the AFC disciplinary code for “displaying insulting or political slogans in any form”.

Brisbane Roar v Central Coast Mariners

Tonight, Suncorp Stadium, 7pm

Referee: Kazuyoshi Enomoto

TattsBet: Roar $1.97, Mariners $3.80, draw $3.30

TV: Live, Fox Sports 4 (Ch 505)