Socceroos talisman Tim Cahill has denied he needs regular game time at Millwall with the striker still not playing consistent first-team football less than four months out from the start of the 2018 World Cup.
The 38-year-old joined the Championship side at the end of January - nearly two months after departing A-League outfit Melbourne City - and has only made two substitute appearances totalling six minutes since making the move.
Cahill claimed the reason why he left Melbourne City was that he needed game time and to be playing at the 'highest level' to secure a spot in the Australian World Cup team.
But in an interview with Fox Sports, the former Everton forward backflipped on his intentions at Millwall, saying he made the move to be in a testing 'professional environment'.
"I don't think it's about playing. Hundred per cent it's not," Cahill said.
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"Everyone says 'oh, you gotta play, gotta play to get to the World Cup'. Lets just put the World Cup aside.
"This is about being in a professional environment that tests me every day. And hopefully, touching wood, no injuries."
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Cahill's quotes are a far cry from his initial reasoning for leaving Australia.
He previously made it clear he needed to depart Melbourne City because he had only made one start in nine matches under new coach Warren Joyce.
"I need game time ... If I don't (get it at Melbourne City), I'll find a way to play," Cahill said after the Socceroos' playoff qualification triumph over Honduras in November.
"To get to a World Cup you need to be playing at the highest level."
Cahill will have the opportunity for first-team action on Sunday morning (AEDT) as his Millwall side travel to Burton Albion.
He will also be hoping to catch the eye of new Australian coach Bert Van Marwijk, with international friendlies coming up against Norway and Colombia in late March.
