Sydney revival: Luke Wilkshire. Credit:AAP A switch to a back four for Australia would certainly place more emphasis on the fullbacks defending as well as getting forward to support the midfielders and attack. In the World Cup in Brazil, and also at the Asian Cup in 2015, Postecoglou used a back four in which Ivan Franjic, Ryan McGowan and Jason Davidson all played regularly in traditional fullback roles. Injury has cruelled Franjic's career since and he is back at Brisbane Roar in the A-League. McGowan has just joined English League One side Bradford City, while Davidson, who got a move to Premier League West Brom and then to Huddersfield after his efforts in Brazil, is reported to be in Croatia but not playing.

So if van Marwijk is a short term-appointment designed to make Australia hard to beat in Russia, then Luke Wilkshire could be a short-term solution to a problem position. Wilkshire was discarded on the eve of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil by Postecoglou and was not sighted during the remaining three-and-a-half years of the latter's reign. But the Wollongong-born Wilkshire is enjoying an Indian summer as part of Sydney FC's league-leading team and at the age of 36 seems to have retained much of the athletic ability which made him a key component of the national team for nearly a decade. The Sky Blues' right back has always been able to run fast and long – his scores at the beep test were rivalled only by the likes of Brett Emerton – and he has garnered 16 years of top-level experience. He started out in the Premier League with Middlesbrough, but played in the English Championship, the Dutch Eredvisie with Twente and Feyenoord and also the top division in Russia with Dynamo Moscow – something that might be handy when the World Cup gets underway.

He is tactically adept, as he is showing with Sydney. Opta Stats reveal that he has played 17 of Sydney's 18 games this season so far for a total of 1501 minutes. He has scored one goal and is credited with three assists – including a delightfully flighted chip for Bobo's equaliser against Melbourne Victory on Australia Day. No one can question the quality of his distribution – the Opta numbers reveal that he has an 83 per cent accuracy rate with his passes – while he is averaging three crosses per game. Age has not wearied him. There are several options for the position at left back; Aziz Behich would look to have put himself in pole position as the first choice. Formerly with both Melbourne A-League sides, Behich is playing regularly for Turkish Super League side Bursaspor and played in the Confederations Cup and in the playoffs against Syria and Honduras. Brad Smith was often picked by Postecoglou, but the Bournemouth left back, while quick, is hardly ever fully match fit as he rarely plays for the Bournemouth first team. He sustained an injury when picked for the game against Syria, which also set his progress back.

Another left-sided defender who will be hoping to impress is former Sydney FC youngster Alex Gersbach. He moved to Rosenborg in Norway two years ago, but will be looking to a recent loan move to French club RC Lens to revive his international ambitions. There are a few other options for the right side. One such option is Milos Degenek, the defender who is based at Postecoglou's new J-League club Yokohama. Degenek can play right back but has also appeared centrally. Locally there are a handful of candidates – namely Josh Risdon, who did well when he was brought into the side by Postecoglou in the World Cup playoffs, having been put on the back burner for over a year. The Western Sydney Wanderers right back gets up and down the flanks and works hard, his presence freeing Mathew Leckie to operate further up the pitch. But van Marwijk could do worse than to look with fresh eyes upon Wilkshere to fill the role, the last of the "golden generation" still plying his trade in the A-League, a player with enormous reserves of energy and stamina who figured way back in the 2006 World Cup.