Kerr captaincy question not the focus for Australia interim boss Sermanni

MELBOURNE - Australia caretaker coach Tom Sermanni has no idea whether striker Sam Kerr will resume the captaincy following her court case and is also in the dark about his own future as the Matildas prepare for the SheBelieves Cup in the United States.

Australia will compete in the four-team tournament also featuring the hosts, Japan and Colombia with plenty of questions hanging over the set-up.

Chelsea forward Kerr was found not guilty of racially abusing a police officer but former players and pundits have still called for her to be replaced as captain due to the negative publicity generated by the case.

Sermanni, meanwhile, is uncertain he will even be around to coach Kerr when she returns to the squad after more than a year on the sidelines recovering from knee surgery.

Football Australia has been looking for a full-time replacement for Sermanni since he took the role on an interim basis five months ago.

It has left the Scot and the World Cup semi-finalists in an awkward position just over a year out from Australia hosting the Womens Asian Cup.

Sermanni told reporters in Houston he had been in touch with Kerr to check on her wellbeing since the not-guilty verdict but declined to offer an opinion on the captaincy.

Whatever decision gets made, who makes it and who is involved, I really dont know at the moment because it’s really completely and utterly not part of our focus, he said ahead of Australias opener against Japan later on Thursday.

At this minute in time Sam is injured. She has been injured for 13 months and the team is just getting on with its normal business.

So it’s not part of the conversation, when it does become part of the conversation, then I’ll know more but at the