Melbourne Victory interim Head Coach Grant Brebner has expressed a desire to implement entertaining and attacking football for the remainder of the 2019/20 Hyundai A-League season.
The newly-appointed Head Coach managed his first training session on Tuesday, with the return of A-League football scheduled for July 16 – kicking off with Victory v Western United at AAMI Park.
“It’s an honour, a huge privilege and something I hoped would come, although I didn’t think it would come this quickly,” said Brebner.
“I’m very thankful to the Board and to Trent Jacobs for giving me this opportunity. I will embrace it with Jeff Hopkins and the rest of the staff and we are going to enjoy it,” said the Scotsman.
It's back to basics for Brebs and the lads with a month until the #ALeague season restarts #MVFC pic.twitter.com/XtDsCPd3Mj
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) June 16, 2020
Identity
Brebner, who made over 100 appearances for the club, is keen to follow the footsteps of previous Victory managers by sticking to the club’s core beliefs and foundations.
“Over the years, this club has been built on certain things. We talk about Ernie Merrick in the early days, Ange Postecoglou or Kevin Muscat. Win, lose or draw, the foundations were attacking and entertaining football,” he stated.
“I have been talking to the players and that is going to be our goal. We want to entertain the fans and win some games along the way.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBe4LoelYxv/
Ambition
With a minimum of five Hyundai A-League games to play, Brebner is realistic with his ambitions but is confident that his attacking approach will be applied over the coming weeks.
“I’m not going to reinvent the wheel over a short period of time. The players will know their jobs, they will be clear,” said the two-time A-League Championship winner.
“They won’t go out there with anything else in their head, other than what their role is off the ball.”
We're back! Our season resumes on July 16. Details: https://t.co/rfx8nDAo5H #MVFC #OurVictory pic.twitter.com/gqsz6TXv80
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) June 15, 2020
Opportunity
With a number of players returning to full fitness, Brebner intends to select a team based on the upcoming training sessions and not on previous performances from this season.
“We are starting to look at the starting eleven and there will be an opportunity for all players to showcase their talents over the next five games,” said Brebner.
“There is nobody that is guaranteed a place in the starting eleven. It will be down to how they work, not just on the pitch but off it too. There is an element which we are trying to bring back.
“Anybody can make that starting eleven – it doesn’t matter if you’re 18 or 33,” he said.
