Robbie Fowler's presence is good for Australian football but Sydney FC's Ryan McGowan won't be rolling out the welcome mat on Wednesday.
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The Sky Blues host Fowler's Brisbane at Leichhardt Stadium in an FFA Cup round of 32 clash which will be the Liverpool great's first competitive match in charge of the Roar.
McGowan, who will be making his first competitive appearance for Sydney after his release by English club Bradford, says Fowler choosing to ply his trade in Australia can only be a positive for the game.
"It's exciting for the league to have a man of his calibre come here and manage but we'll be wanting to make sure his first game's not enjoyable and we get the right result," McGowan said.
"It's good for the league to have players and coaches of his stature coming to Australia and hopefully helping out the young boys."
Capped 20 times for Australia, the 29-year-old McGowan was unaffected by an illness which swept through the Sky Blues' camp before their pre-season friendly defeat to French giants Paris Saint-Germain in China last week.
McGowan played a full 90 minutes against the star-studded PSG line-up which included star strikers Kylian Mbappe and Edison Cavani.
With most of those taken ill having since recovered, McGowan expects a strong line-up to take on the Roar.
"It was a shame for a lot of the boys that did pick up the bug and the illness so they had to miss out but it's a good opportunity for the younger boys to step in and get that experience against high-class opposition," he said.
"A lot of us got 90 minutes in the legs which is good and hopefully stands us in good stead for Wednesday."
Australian Associated Press