Murray United’s captain spent the first half of the year on the sidelines battling osteitis pubis — his first outing for the new premier league club coming against Melbourne Victory.

It was a 9-1 thrashing.

Giles said it may have been a blessing in disguise.

“I hadn’t had a pre-season, barely trained so it was always going to be a test to play the 90 minutes,” he said.

“They were a class above anyone else we’ve played – they buried half-chances, were ruthless if we made a mistake.

“Personally it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, there is no pressure against a side who was smashing everyone they played.”

Since that time United has beaten Melbourne City and Springvale, drew on the road to Kingston City and had narrow losses to Box Hill and Dandenong.

That, in part, has been the result of Giles and his defensive midfield partner Ashley Dunn.

Giles played down his role, but was full of praise for the English visa player who joined the club during the transfer window.

“The step up from AWFA was massive and I don’t think I can really put it into words,” he said.

“The game is quicker, you have very little time on the ball and every side is well-drilled, well-organised.

“I’m probably still not where I want to be physically and probably underestimated how long it would be after the injury before my body was fully recovered but having someone like Ash alongside you helps.

“He’s been huge for us — he’s fearless in defence and when he puts in one of those big tackles it lifts the entire team.”

Giles said Dunn wasn’t the only teammate to catch his eye.

“James Coutts’ knowledge of the game is outstanding, he thinks about the game in a different way is really two steps ahead of everyone on the field,” he said.

“Zac Walker’s finishing has been another highlight — he continues to find space in the box against quality defenders.

“And then you have the young guys like Darcy Pawlik and Tom Morrison.”

Giles believed the likeli- hood was some of United’s squad would be poached by clubs higher up the food chain.

“The bigger clubs have made no secret of the fact they are looking at some of our players and that would be the icing on the cake in our first year,” he said.

“All the young boys want to play at as high a level as possible and without Murray United they wouldn’t have even been in the shop window.”

Murray United is at home to the Goulburn Valley Suns this weekend.