Melbourne Victory today announced that Kevin Muscat has been appointed as Head Coach for the next two seasons.
Melbourne Victory today announced that Kevin Muscat has been appointed as Head Coach for the next two seasons.
Muscat will take charge of Australia-s biggest club until at least the end of 2014/15 Hyundai A-League season, following the recent departure of Ange Postecoglou to the Socceroos role.
Chairman Anthony Di Pietro said the Melbourne Victory Board believed the time was right to give Muscat his first real taste of life as a Head Coach.
“Kevin has been working towards this moment, having captained multiple clubs and serving a three year assistant coaching apprenticeship. He is someone that has been successful and knows what it takes to win and we-re confident that he-ll promote and foster that winning environment with our players and right across the club,” Mr Di Pietro said.
“While his appointment has come about sooner than expected after Ange-s departure, we are very confident Kevin has all the attributes and expertise required to lead us forward and is also best placed to ensure stability, continuity and discipline, which was a paramount for the Board.
“It is clear that Kevin has grown significantly as a coach throughout his time with Ange, but importantly has played a key role in the development of our game plan, style and structure and we believe he is best placed to carry on our football plans seamlessly.”
A humbled Muscat said he was honoured to be taking on the top job.
“This is obviously a really exciting opportunity for me and one that I feel I-m ready to take on at this stage of my career,” Muscat said.
“Ange demanded a lot and gave me a great deal of responsibility when I was his assistant – something that I believe has definitely prepared me well for the top job.
“Melbourne Victory plays, and will continue to play, a certain way and the fact that I-ve been heavily involved in the implementation of our structures and philosophies is really important considering we-re now a month into the season.
“I-m lucky enough to have achieved plenty of success here as a player and it certainly does spur me on to want to enjoy that same feeling now as a coach.
“I-m very confident that as a club, we-re headed in the right direction and I-m looking forward to playing a big part in Melbourne Victory-s future successes.”
