Josh Bingham to start for Mariners v Perth

Jan 27, 2017 - 4:25 AM Little-used Central Coast striker Josh Bingham will make his first start of the A-League season when he deputises for the suspended Roy O'Donovan against Perth.

Bingham hasn't been sighted since a 13-minute cameo against Western Sydney in December, and has made two appearances all summer.

Mariners coach Paul Okon on Friday confirmed the 22-year-old, whose last goal came in almost a year ago, will get the nod against a Perth side that hasn't been beaten in six weeks.

Okon admitted his team would be missing O'Donovan's leadership against the Glory on Saturday.

"He's scored eight important goals for us. Josh Bingham has an opportunity tomorrow and I think everyone who turns up tomorrow will be really eager to see how Josh goes," Okon said.

"I don't really have any concerns when we have the ball, it's those moments where at some stage, we switch off and we lose concentration where we've been punished."

The Mariners are last on the competition table after failing to win their past eight games - seven of them defeats.

Their last victory came against the Glory back in late November.

However with under three months left in the regular season, Okon refuses to look at how many points adrift his team is of the top six.

"There's enough games for us to win games. Hopefully that starts again tomorrow," he said.

"But really at the moment, it's not looking too far ahead or how many points we want to get or think we should get. It's about turning up tomorrow, performing in front of our supporters."

Perth, who upset heavyweights Melbourne Victory last week, have been boosted by the return of attacker Chris Harold to join what Okon labelled arguably the league's best foursome.

"We go into it with some confidence, but we're aware that we need to stop (Diego) Castro, (Andy) Keogh, (Adam) Taggart and Chris Harrold up front, four that, on paper is up there with any of the attacking weapons in the A-League," he said.

STATS THAT MATTER

* The Mariners have won 14 and drawn three of their 18 home games against Perth Glory in A-League history, their only blemish a 1-0 loss in November 2014.

* Perth Glory have drawn each of their past four games away from home. They have never had a five-game road streak of draws.

* Nebojsa Marinkovic has scored three goals from outside the box so far this season, more than any other player.

Source: AAP