May 2 (Reuters) - Carl Robinson hailed the impact new signing Scott McDonald has had on his Western Sydney Wanderers team after the veteran striker put himself on the scoresheet in his new team's win over champions Sydney FC on Saturday.
The 37-year-old former Celtic and Australia striker came off the bench to score Western Sydney's third in a 3-2 win over Steve Corica's side as the Wanderers reignited their challenge for a place in the playoffs.
The Wanderers remain in seventh place, but pulled level on points with Western United with two games remaining. Only the top six in the table progress to the next phase of the competition.
"You look at the best players in this league or the ones that make a big impact," said Robinson.
"You talk about the Sydney boy (Milos) Ninkovic, you talk about the boy (Diego) Castro, you talk about (Alessandro) Diamante, and age is just a number, it really is, and I said that bringing Scotty in.
"He's a terrific footballer and he understands the game and he knows what is required at certain moments, when we're 3-1 or 3-2 up with two or three minutes to go.
"He understands how to take a foul, he understands how to win a free kick and that's how young players learn.
"Young players only learn from the experience and ability of your senior players. So bringing him in here until the end of the season was a no brainer for me."
McDonald signed for Western Sydney during the week having been released by the Brisbane Roar, and Robinson feels his arrival will help spark an upturn in form after the Wanderers went six games without a win prior to the victory over Sydney FC.
"When your back's against the wall, you find out a little about your character," he said.
"Scotty's come in, he's a big voice, a big character and I love having big characters in the locker room."