Ange Postecoglou may be excited about returning to Melbourne and taking control at Victory, but the most successful active coach in domestic football history in under no illusions about the task that awaits him.
Ange Postecoglou may be excited about returning to Melbourne and taking control at Victory, but the most successful active coach in domestic football history in under no illusions about the task that awaits him.
Postecoglou has agreed to a three-year deal and said he can’t wait to get stuck into his new job as of next Tuesday after leaving Brisbane for a new challenge.
The two-time Hyundai A-League championship winning coach, who also won two NSL titles with South Melbourne, said that the enormity of the task did nothing to dim his enthusiasm.
“This is just really exciting for me. Being back home is exciting. But more importantly being in charge of this football club is really exciting, whilst my wife is dying for holiday, she will have to put it off for a while,” he said just four days after his Grand Final success with Brisbane Roar.
He said there was no escaping that the last 12 months had represented a step back for Victory and that change needed to come.
“You can’t hide from the fact that the club was unsuccessful this year, so you need to have meaningful change on the field and that will only happen with change of personnel,” he said.
“It’s not just about the players, it’s about the staff as well. I need to make sure that the people I bring in from a football department point of view are the ones who can comprehend what I want to do.”
Chairman Anthony Di Pietro echoed Postecoglou’s call for change, saying the very reason he had been brought in was to carry the club to a new era.
“We looked at Ange as a person who is able to deliver sustainability to a club’s culture and we recognised that we did need a regeneration. We have sat here a couple of times and admitted to the risk we took with inexperience in the football department,” the chairman said.
“We are now happy that we are able to have someone like Ange with his experience and also coming from Melbourne, understanding the Australian landscape and being able to show us that he can deliver a regeneration that clearly this club has needed.
“From that perspective, we’ve had a culture, we understand that the culture needs to improve and regenerate itself for the future and Ange will deliver that.”
Meanwhile, Postecoglou said he would welcome Harry Kewell remaining at the club should the player come to terms with Victory on an extension to his stay.
“In terms of footballing side of things, any good player fits into my plans. I know people might want to assume what type of player I like but usually they are good players, and Harry is a good player,” he said.
“Obviously there are contractual issues there and with all those things, I am not going to pre-judge or pre-empt anything. Discussions will go on and obviously I’ll start getting involved now and if we can come to an arrangement, it would be fantastic.”
“I thought Harry was outstanding, particularly in the back half of last season, I can tell you that when Brisbane played them in Brisbane and he scored a couple of goals, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when he got subbed off.”
“He’s added a lot to the A-League. I think as a competition, I think that’s where Melbourne Victory have played a massive role in promoting the whole comp.”
“If everything gets agreed upon, it would be great to have him on board again.”
