HIRED gun Roy O'Donovan declared it was "good to be home" and that his return match for the Jets against arch rivals Central Coast "can't come soon enough".
O'Donovan is expected to be rushed straight into a goal-shy Jets attack for the F3 derby at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday after completing an 11th hour transfer from Brisbane.
"I could have played today but I didn't get signed in time," O'Donovan told Fox Sports at half-time of the Jets' scoreless draw with Western United in Newcastle on Sunday. "I really can't wait to get going now. Next week against the Mariners can't come soon enough."
O'Donovan scored a hat-trick on debut for the Jets in a 5-1 rout of the Mariners in the opening round of the 2017-18 season. The Irishman has six goals in four games for the Jets against their fierce rivals and added another for Brisbane in a 2-0 win in November.
The Jets will be hoping the Irishman's goal-scoring run continues.
They have netted a league-low 13 goals in 15 games.
They fired 25 shots against Western United and delivered 50 balls into the box.
"Roy is the type of player who in a game like that would have scored a couple of goals," caretaker coach Craig Deans said. "He is in the box, he is dangerous, he is aggressive and he gets in good areas.
"Having him back next week is a huge bonus for us. Fitness-wise he should be close enough to be able to start. It is about having a look at him at training and seeing where he is physically."
The Western United stalemate was symptomatic of the Jets' season.
In the 2-1 loss to Wellington a fortnight ago, they lead the shot count 28-8 and put in 33 crosses.
READ MORE: O'DONOVAN RETURNS IN 11TH HOUR TRANSFER COUP
"Everyone is trying so hard to be the person who scores, we almost get in each other's way," Deans said. "The desperation and everything is there. It is just that little bit of composure and quality at the key moments."
O'Donovan is likely to partner Panamanian Abdiel Arroyo up front against the Mariners if Deans retains the 3-5-2 formation he has deployed in the past two games.
In a further boost, former Ireland international Wes Hoolahan is set to make his much-anticipated return after a five month lay-off with ankle syndesmosis.
The man known as the Irish Messi trained strongly last week, but Deans erred on the side of caution.
"We pushed Wes pretty hard to give it a real good test as close to match conditions as we could," Deans said. "He came through it pretty well. If we put him in and he is not 100 per cent, it is not the right thing to do by him. We will push him hard again this week."
The inclusion of O'Donovan will ease the pressure on Dimi Petratos.
"Dimi looks a bit down in confidence," Deans said. "I'm sure he wants to be contributing goals and assists and every thing else he brings to the game. Again you can't fault his work ethic. His attitude during the week is the same as every other player. Their attitude and desire to get better and get out of the situation is really good."
