After returning from injury ahead of schedule, Storm Roux played his first 90-minutes in over eight months against Sydney FC at the weekend. This Saturday he can’t wait to get back to Central Coast Stadium and play in front of the Members and fans who motivated him on the road to recovery.
At 23 years of age and one of the first names on the New Zealand team sheet when fit, Roux has the world at his feet after returning to play his first full 90 minutes since February.
Speaking after Tuesday’s training session at the Central Coast Mariners Centre of Excellence, Roux credited the Yellow & Navy Members and fans for added motivation and says the team is progressing well under Paul Okon.
“Paolo’s only had us for six weeks which is a very short time to implement your style,” Roux said. “We’re already showing great signs of it and the boys are confident the wins are going to come.
“We believe that we are playing good football, we just need to iron out the mistakes and work on the things we’re doing well already.
“We’re showing great signs in the games we’ve played, it was a tough loss on the weekend but I don’t think we quite deserved that score line.
“Paolo has spent a lot of time with the youth national team set ups and a lot of great players have come through his squads and you can tell by the way he goes about his business that he gets the best out of the young players.
“We’ve got such a young squad and it’s only positive for us so hopefully the boys can all grow under him into great players,” Roux said.
When asked about his road to recovery Roux said it has made him a stronger person but is ready to put it all behind him and get back to business.
“Physically the pain was only there temporarily after the all of the surgeries, the hardest part was not being able to do much and the rehab is a long time but the medical staff here have helped me out a lot and the boys have been great,” Roux said. “Mentally it’s tough but you get over that and once you’re back playing with the boys it’s all good again.
“Suffering an injury like that makes you realise just how lucky you are to be playing football and to never take it for granted, not being able to touch a ball for five months is hard to do but I think it’s made me stronger as a person.
“I just want to put it all behind me now and look forward to playing football,” Roux said.
Storm received an overwhelming amount of support from not only Central Coast Mariners fans but the entire football community. The Kiwi-international thanked everyone for helping him to stay motivated across the tough journey.
“One of the biggest things I’ve been looking forward to has been a home game and I can go out there and show my appreciate to the fans that really helped me get through it,” Roux said. “All the messages and support I received really helped me get through those lonely rehab and gym sessions so I’m very thankful,” Roux said.
