Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson admits he is concerned the contractual uncertainty surrounding the club could harm their chances of Hyundai A-League finals success.
Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson admits he is concerned the contractual uncertainty surrounding the club could harm their chances of Hyundai A-League finals success.
Ferguson, along with several key players, is coming out of contract at the end of the season and the club have said they will only look to make a decision on his future once the home-and-away campaign finishes with their match on Saturday against Melbourne Victory.
That saw injured defender Chris Coyne say in a television interview on Thursday night that many of the players were frustrated by the uncertainty regarding their own future and Ferguson’s.
“The boys aren’t happy about the situation they find themselves in and I reckon Fergie isn’t either,” Coyne told Seven News.
“I don’t reckon it’s right with the club to not sort people’s futures out earlier and hopefully that can be resolved after this weekend.”
Ferguson, who wants his situation resolved before the finals start, said he was doing all he could to ensure the uncertainty didn’t affect performance leading into Perth’s second appearance in the A-League finals but admitted it could have an impact.
Coyne, Steve Pantelidis, Josh Mitchell, Steven McGarry and Scott Neville are among the players to have their contracts expire after this season and the coach admitted some of them had still not been spoken to about new deals.
“Next month is D-Day for a lot of people, including myself. It’s tough, but you’ve got to get on with it,” Ferguson said.
“What’s happening at the moment, some players will be able to handle this no problem and some won’t … I’m trying to keep everybody calm.”
“I’m trying to keep players motivated and in the loop with the budget cuts and so on. They’ve been pretty respectful as well so they know what’s going on.”
Ferguson said he hoped to discuss his future with Glory owner Tony Sage soon after their vital home game against the Victory.
“Everybody wants to know where they are and what their future is and I’ve been pretty respectful,” he said.
“I think we’ve achieved everything that the club wanted us to achieve this year and more. We’ve hit the top four when the expectations were top six so I’ve got to be happy with that.”
“It’s up to Tony whether he wants me to be here. I definitely want to be here.”
The third-placed Glory are guaranteed of hosting their first A-League home final on April 1 but their final ladder position and week one opponent will be determined by results in the last round.
