FORMER captain Mark Rudan will return to the Sydney squad for Saturday's game against Newcastle after missing the win over Central Coast because of suspension, but there is no guarantee he will start the match, with new coach John Kosmina still to decide his plan for the Jets.

Rudan would have been delighted to see Sydney return to the winning list on Sunday, but the timing of his ban could hurt him, with the back-three defence of Mark Milligan, Tony Popovic and Iain Fyfe having been impressive in the 3-2 win. There was always the possibility he might have to come back via the bench after that.

But Kosmina stressed last night he had enormous respect for Rudan and that because Newcastle's style was different to that of the Mariners, it was possible he would have a different starting line-up for the game at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

"I like to focus on my team, but you do have to take into consideration the way the opposition plays to a degree and Newcastle are a completely different team to Central Coast," Kosmina said. "Mark will be in the [15-man] squad, but beyond that I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. I never make any early decisions. I'm going to have a good look at it.

"It's not an easy one for Mark, because the guys who played at the back played fantastic yesterday. But it's a week-to-week thing with everyone. I'm having a look at where we can fit 'Rudes' in.

"There are no guarantees for anyone here as far as the starting side is concerned, but Mark will be coming back into the squad somewhere.

"Mark had a huge amount to do with Sydney's great finish to the first season of the A-League and he also played a big part in keeping things together when the team was going through a difficult time last season. I know how important he is to the team and he's important to my plans as well."

Kosmina played with three defenders, tight in the centre of the park, two wing-backs, a holding midfielder, two genuine midfielders, an attacking midfielder and a lone striker against the Mariners. It worked well, but Kosmina said he would not be locking himself into that formation.

"We've got different options and I'll consider those according to how we think we should play the game," he said. "This is going to be a bigger test for us than the game against the Mariners was. Newcastle beat Melbourne on the road on the weekend and now we've got to go on the road against Newcastle.

"The problem we have is that we're playing catch-up. We're coming from back in the field, so we haven't got a lot of margin for error. We have to make sure we get it right and be really committed over the next 11 weeks if we're to make the finals. If we get there, then we can set a new goal. We're back on our feet, but that's all at this stage."

The arrival of English striker Michael Bridges had a two-fold positive effect on Sydney against Central Coast.

It gave them a forward who could play alone up front, either using his skill to try to beat a defender or holding the ball up while waiting for support, and it allowed Alex Brosque to slip back into what is a more natural role for him, playing from behind the front line.

Brosque slotted in behind Bridges and proved how dangerous he was running on to the ball. He scored his first goal mopping up after a Steve Corica shot came back off the post and his second came from feeding off a terrific through ball from Popovic. Brosque has never looked comfortable playing up front and Kosmina plans to keep using him as he did on Sunday.

"'Brosquey' isn't an out-and-out striker," Kosmina said. "He's a lot more dangerous when he can come from out wide or come from behind. I don't want him playing with his back to the goal. The way he took his second goal, running on to the through ball and slotting it home, showed what he's best at."