New Melbourne Heart coach John Aloisi has made the recruitment of a midfield enforcer his top priority after taking over the reins of the club on Tuesday.
New Melbourne Heart coach John Aloisi has made the recruitment of a midfield enforcer his top priority after taking over the reins of the club on Tuesday.
Aloisi said he is aiming look to build on the platform established by former coach John van ‘t Schip, but believes the side needs to add some steel in the centre of the park, complementing the likes of flair players Fred and Mate Dugandzic.
“You saw last year our consistency wasn-t quite there,” he said. “We played some really good football, at times we destroyed teams but we didn-t control games at times.
“Our sitting midfield, our No.6 that controls a game, can break up a game when opposition gets on top of you, is a key position we-re looking for at the moment.”
With three visa spots available, Aloisi said Heart will certainly look abroad in its search for the necessary spark to take his side to the next level.
“We’re looking at a few players. We need to make sure the foreigners we pick up are the right ones. We are hoping by the start of pre-season in June our squad will be full,” he said.
And the former Socceroo has not been shy in stating his ambitions for a team he believes can push for the title.
“We’re going to be very ambitious and our goal will be to win the league,” he said. “I believe our squad will be strong enough to compete against anyone in the competition.
“I’m going to be under pressure no matter what, so I might as well be under pressure knowing that I’m going to try and win it.
“I’m not saying if we don’t make the six it’s not going to be a successful year because we might produce two or three young players that no one heard of, or one of the younger players develops into a national team player and goes to the World Cup.
“That’s also success for the club. Personally I would like to see both.”
