Melbourne City are about to experience becoming the hunted but coach Patrick Kisnorbo is confident the A-League Men champions won’t be looking over their shoulders.
City stormed to a premiership-championship double last season, ending a long-standing trophy drought, bar the 2016 FFA Cup.
Kisnorbo is confident his players’ determination to achieve again will waylay any nerves about the chasing pack in the upcoming season.
“Maybe people will call us the hunted but we’re the hunters because we still want to achieve things within our group,” he told AAP.
“So we’re hunting for that. I did say in a speech that we will become the hunted which to other teams we are, but to me we’ll worry about us.”
City have set themselves up for a tilt at creating a dynasty, locking in one of the game’s most lethal attacks for at least the next three seasons.
Socceroos attacker Mathew Leckie recently joined on a three-year deal, while golden boot striker Jamie Maclaren and explosive winger Andrew Nabbout have also committed long-term.
New signing, Italian midfielder Manuel Pucciarelli, Olyroos sensation Marco Tilio and fellow young gun Stefan Colakovski add to a tantalising array of attacking options.
“Leckie’s a great person, so he brings a good culture within our club,” Kisnorbo said.
“He’s a really, really hard worker at training, obviously (when you look at) the playing career that he’s had, you can see why he’s played at the highest level.
“He’s also a teacher because he helps our younger players in training to improve because at one stage he was that person, that boy.
“He teaches the young kids things that they could improve on, so he’s been a great acquisition.”
The likes of Nathaniel Atkinson, Connor Metcalfe, Tilio and Colakovski went from strength to strength last season and Kisnorbo believes there’s more to come from the talented youngsters.
“I push them because I know they have aspirations and goals and I want them to try to succeed in every way at this club and personally,” Kisnorbo said.
“We need to get them to repeat and improve on last year. We talk about Mathew Leckie but the reason why players like him go overseas is because they can consistently do it year after year.
“That’s what we need to implement with these youngsters that are coming through: consistency.”
Before his second campaign as senior coach, which kicks off on November 19, Kisnorbo was adamant he and his charges both have plenty of hunger, despite their breakthrough season.
“I don’t look at silverware, I don’t look at trophies as success,” he said.
“I look at playing a certain way, playing a style that we believe in, following processes that will get us to play at that level and that’s it. That’s the way I look at success.
“At the end of the day, trophies are trophies and to everyone else they’re definitely great but I want to keep continuing to improve our style and the way we play football at this club.”
