Luke Wilkshire is looking forward to playing more of a leadership role as Holger Osieck's Australian national team looks to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. The Dinamo Moscow right-back, along with the likes of Mark Schwarzer, Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton, will be at the forefront of the Socceroos' qualification process for Brazil 2014 and he is hoping that his experience can rub off on the new breed.
"These players all have great potential but they haven't yet really had the chance to experience some of these difficult treks into Asia which the more experienced players have," Wilkshire told The World Game.
"It will be after some of these qualifying games that we can start to assess how these young boys are progressing and coming through and what they are made of in terms of character.
"I have every confidence that they have the ability - but any guidance, the likes of myself, Lucas Neill, Brett Emerton, Harry Kewell and Mark Schwarzer can pass onto to them won't go amiss.
"We've all been through a couple of campaigns now and we know what to expect and what we're going to be up against.
"We want to help the younger boys handle what lies ahead."
