Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson says next season will be his last chance to get things right after leading the club to its worst Hyundai A-League finish.
Ferguson took over from David Mitchell in October after the club failed to meet their high pre-season expectations, but the former Rangers midfielder was unable to turn things around.
Perth’s second-from-bottom finish, confirmed by their 4-0 in their last game of the season at Newcastle Jets on Thursday, was their equal worst, but their points-per-game total was lower than the other three seasons they finished in the bottom two.
Ferguson said he knows frustrated owner Tony Sage won’t be patient for much longer.
“I take a lot of responsibility. Everybody’s reputations are at stake, from players to coaches, and I’ve been getting hammered from pillar to post,” he said.
“It’s been a very difficult job. There’s been a lot of upheaval, a lot of swapping and changing, a lot of injuries and a lot of out-of-form players.”
“I’ve got a lot of work to do this off-season and we have to get a lot of things right because if we don’t, I’ll be out on my backside.”
“There will be post mortems done on myself and obviously the players as well.”
Ferguson confirmed the club has signed defender Dean Heffernan from Melbourne Heart, while Melbourne Victory’s Evan Berger and Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Danny Vukovic will also be joining the Glory next year.
“We’re starting to build pretty nicely. There’s another four or five that we’re hopefully going to be able to announce over the next few weeks,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said he expected another four or five players would be told this week they’re no longer required at the club, while the likes of Tando Velaphi, Andy Todd and Andrija Jukic have already left.
Former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler is out-of-contract at the club but Ferguson said negotiations between him and the club were ongoing.
The Perth coach rejected suggestions the club has approached Gold Coast United marquee player Jason Culina and said there was no chance of him heading west next year as the club couldn’t afford him.
