New Adelaide United signing Dylan Pierias believes the Reds are well-equipped to challenge for major honours this season.
After having the bye in Round 1, Adelaide will finally kick-start their Isuzu UTE A-League campaign on Saturday at Coopers Stadium when they face two-time reigning champions Central Coast Mariners.
“Pre-season has been really good,” said Pierias. “Obviously we have the longest pre-season ever and it can be a bit frustrating sometimes but I think the coaching staff and the staff behind (them) have done really well in getting us to play a lot of games.
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“I think we’ve played 15 games, there was only one week in pre-season where we didn’t play a game so that kept us ticking and got us really fit. We’re looking really good and I think we’re just really excited to get into round two.”
An off-season signing from Western Sydney Wanderers, Pierias admits he’s been impressed with what he’s witnessed both on and off the pitch at his new club and believes they should be in a position to challenge come the end of the campaign.
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“I’m here to win trophies and I think this group wants to win trophies,” said the 24-year-old, who won the Isuzu UTE A-League Championship during his time with Western United.
“There’s no point going into a season thinking you can’t win it and I truly believe we can. I think we’ve got the squad, we’ve got the players, we’ve got the tactics and more importantly I think we’ve got the culture here which is a really big thing for winning trophies.
He continued: “I’ve won one at Western United and I just remember how that year was with the boys and the culture. You get that right and you’re halfway there in my opinion.”
Pierias was one of five new faces brought into the squad this year alongside former Melbourne Victory attacker Ben Folami, ex-Newcastle Jets striker Archie Goodwin, former Adelaide defender Jordan Elsey (Free Agent) and highly regarded Dutch defender Bart Vriends.
Predominantly an out-and-out winger during his time in Western Sydney, Pierias looks set to play a different role under head coach Carl Veart this season.
“I’m a pretty versatile player, I can play a lot of positions. I started off as a winger here but now there was a position open as a fullback, more of an attacking wing back role.
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“Carl (Veart) has trusted me to put me there and I think I’ve done well. Wherever Carl wants to play me throughout the season I’m just happy to play to be honest.
He continued: “Whether it’s a full-back, wing-back, wing – wherever he wants, so we’ll see what happens during the season.”
Whilst it was no doubt frustrating for Pierias and his teammates to have to watch on from the sidelines as round one of the Isuzu UTE A-League kicked off last weekend, the 24-year-old admits he used the time off to take in as many games as he could.
“I’m a massive fan of the Isuzu UTE A-League, I always have been. I genuinely love the league and I watch every game. That’s me not lying here – I like to watch every game.
He added: “I feel like there’s a bit of a buzz about the A-League this year that I haven’t seen in quite a long time. It was good to see Auckland FC and their fans and also the other games there were really good crowds so I was happy to see that.”
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