Still driven by missing out on Melbourne City's only A-League Men grand final appearance, Jamie Maclaren is determined to depart his hometown club on a high note.
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City face fierce rivals Melbourne Victory in Sunday's elimination final at AAMI Park, with every game now potentially Maclaren's last.
The league's record goalscorer will depart City at season's end for an opportunity outside the ALM.
Maclaren, 30, wouldn't discuss his potential destination, preferring to focus on the end to City's season before making a decision, but indicated setting up his family was a priority.
"As a player you always want to have your future sorted but we're still in the league, our season's still alive," he said.
"And we believe that we can go all the way and I wouldn't be doing any sort of respect to my teammates or anything like that (if I made a decision on my next club)."
Maclaren has been the driving force behind City's era of success, scoring 103 goals in 141 ALM appearances.
He has claimed three premierships and four golden boots there - and has one championship to his name.
However, Maclaren, Curtis Good and Connor Metcalfe missed the decider for that 2020-21 championship as they were in hotel quarantine after playing in Socceroos World Cup qualifiers.
Maclaren has also played in two grand final losses.
When asked what it would mean to lift the trophy on grand final day, Maclaren said: "You couldn't put it into words because I know what a crap feeling I felt sitting in hotel quarantine watching the boys who had grafted that whole 90 minutes.
"Look, it's a long way to go. There's still four games to even think about holding that trophy.
"But one thing for sure is - they don't come around very often."
Maclaren, who didn't rule out a return to the ALM in the future, has had a difficult season with injuries and form.
He was left out of the Socceroos' Asian Cup squad, and later benched at club level. He considered his future on multiple occasions.
"The main time was probably after the Asian Cup when I knew that I wasn't playing for the Socceroos that maybe (I needed) a fresh start, fresh change," he said.
"And then you saw guys like Max Caputo playing ahead of me at some point and you could see the quality that he brings."
Maclaren said deciding to move on had allowed him to "play with freedom" and fully soak in his remaining games at City.
"There's nothing better than playing in front of 25,000 at a place that I love scoring goals in," he said.
"Sunday's going to be a cracker and I'll give my all and if it works out, great.
"If it doesn't, then thank you for everything."
Victory sharp shooter Bruno Fornaroli added: "Of course I wish him all the best for his next step.
"But we want to try to be Jamie's last game in the A-League."
Australian Associated Press
