Newly-appointed Central Coast Mariners head coach Nick Montgomery says he’s eager to utilise the “conveyor belt” of talent coming from the club’s youth system to keep the Mariners in contention for silverware in 2021/22.
It won’t be an easy task for Montgomery to take over from the departed Alen Stajcic, who took the Gosford side to a third-place finish after six seasons went by without the Mariners making a Finals Series appearance.
Stajcic set the bar high, but Montgomery is eager to use the 2020/21 A-League season as a foundation to build upon as he intends to take his former side to greater heights in his first campaign as a senior head coach – and he plans to utilise the club’s academy system to help make it happen.
ANNOUNCED: Nick Montgomery appointed Central Coast Mariners head coach
In his two-season stint as Mariners boss, Stajcic called on the likes of Alou Kuol, Matt Hatch, Dan Hall and Jordan Smylie to emerge from the club’s academy and show their wares at A-League level. Montgomery is confident he can do the same as he steps out of the academy system he’s helped to thrive in recent seasons, ready to unleash the talent he fostered in the senior side.
Montgomery spent the past two seasons as head coach of the Mariners’ Y-League side and NPL outfit which clinched the NPL2 Premiership/Championship double last season.
“I’d like to commend Staj, (assistant coach Nahuel Arrarte) and all the players at the club for what they achieved last season,” Montgomery said, as he was revealed as the Mariners’ incoming head coach at the club’s annual awards event on July 2.
“I think the platform we have to build on.
“The academy is something I’m really proud to have worked with (head of football Ken Schembri) very hard over the last couple of years to restructure, and put in a conveyor belt of talent which we’ve already seen this season.
“I know that the club is going to work very, very hard in this off-season to make sure we add a few additions to what is already a fantastic core group of players.
“We’ve got some really exciting young players coming through who I’ve had a unique journey with, either bringing them into the club or spending the last two years coaching and mentoring them.
I’ve been proud to see them push into the first team this season, and be given the opportunity, and I don’t think they’ll let anybody down.”
Hear the exclusive first words from our new Head Coach Nick Montgomery when he spoke to @glen006 during our Mariners Medal Awards.#CCMFC #WontBackDown #Monty pic.twitter.com/NjpmMC9HgM
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) July 5, 2021
Being announced as head coach of the Mariners is a proud moment for Montgomery, who spent five years plying his trade for the club as a player between 2012 and 2017.
Montgomery says his appointment as Mariners boss is a realisation of a goal he set for himself since retirement which further entrenches himself into the Central Coast community he’s called home for nine years.
“To be announced as the head coach of the Mariners is a proud moment for not only me but for my family, for my wife that has supported me,” he said.
“It’s been my ambition since I retired from playing, to one day take the reins as the Mariners.
“I’ve worked really hard, I enjoyed working with Staj and Naz who were here previously, but for me I’m humbled and I’m just really really happy and excited to be involved.
“I’ve been here for nine years now, my family have grown up on the Central Coast and i’ve made a lot of fantastic relationships on the coast with the supporters, with the community, with the players that are at the club and the staff.
“It’s been a journey that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve had success as a player here in 2012/13. I’ve seen the club struggle and I’ve seen the highs and the lows, and I think that experience has really put me in a good position now to take the club forward.”
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