All Whites midfielder Michael McGlinchey is the most likely replacement for Winston Reid in the New Zealand Olympic football squad after Reid ruled himself out of contention to focus on his club career.
Reid was due to be named as one of three over-age players for the tournament along with Ryan Nelsen and Shane Smeltz but has declared his unavailability to try to nail down a first-team spot with West Ham who recently won promotion back to the Premier League. He was a regular last season in the Championship but his place in the side could come under pressure with manager Sam Allardyce sure to strengthen his squad.
West Ham have a three-game pre-season tour of Europe at the same time as the Olympics. Because it is an under-23 tournament, clubs are not obliged to release players.
"At the end of the day, it was my decision and I felt what I was doing was the right decision," Reid told Radio Sport. "I'm not saying I didn't want to go to the Olympics or play for New Zealand, because I would have loved to, but I've got other commitments right now and in the long run that will hopefully benefit myself and New Zealand as well.
"It would be different if I'd been at the club for six or seven years and I'd been playing regularly then maybe I could have done it, but I needed to work hard this pre-season and make sure the spot's mine at West Ham."
McGlinchey impressed coach Neil Emblen at the recent Oceania Nations Cup in the Solomon Islands and would provide some much-needed experience in the middle of the park.
Emblen already has enough defensive cover with the likes of Tommy Smith, Ian Hogg, James Musa and Tim Myers and is likely to opt for a strong spine with Nelsen (central defender), McGlinchey (centre midfielder) and Smeltz (striker). McGlinchey would also be available, with his Central Coast side not due to kick off their A-League campaign until October 6.
The Oly-Whites squad is due to be announced tomorrow with as many as 10 players who appeared in the Oceania Nations Cup in line for selection.
