When Perth Glory take on Macarthur FC in Round 1 of the Isuzu UTE A-League season this weekend, the West Australian side will do so with a new philosophy, having developed an entirely new culture and identity as a club.
That’s the guarantee from David Zdrilic, who on Sunday afternoon will oversee the very first game of his professional managerial career as a senior head coach.
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The new man at the helm concedes there are fitness issues in the playing group as he prepares his charges for a trip to Campbelltown Sports Stadium to take on Australia Cup champions Macarthur FC but after Glory’s wooden-spoon finish in 2023-24, there’s a positive outlook in the west as Zdrilic takes charge of a team on a mission to lift in the new campaign.
“For me, it’s fantastic that I’m here in Perth,” Zdrilic said.
“I’ve just loved every minute. The challenge of totally recreating the club’s identity, the culture, and seeing that change already in the pre-season, it makes me very proud.
“As a head coach – I’ve been asked this before – I don’t feel like it’s my first head coaching role. I’ve been in environments that are very, very stressful, high-pressure environments that I don’t think I can replicate here in Australia… albeit as an assistant coach but still very high-pressure situations.”
Zdrilic was an assistant coach at Sydney FC last season but before that, the former Socceroo did his coaching apprenticeship in Europe working for the likes of RB Leipzig and Genoa.
“That’s why I went there (to Europe) and stayed there, and didn’t take up other head coaching offers,” he explained. “Because I just saw that I had so much to learn and I’m learning in a very, very high-level environment.
“So for me it’s just exciting that I’m here in Perth, that I get to start my head coaching journey here, and that I’m able to do it with such a talented squad, a lot of depth, a lot of youth, a lot of experience, and all the challenges that come with that.”
Zdrilic is one of four head coaches at new clubs this season; former Sydney FC boss Steve Corica is set to lead Auckland FC into the team’s very first Isuzu UTE A-League season, Patrick Kisnorbo has taken the reins at Melbourne Victory and Alen Stajcic, who coached Perth Glory last season, was appointed Western Sydney Wanderers head coach after just one season in Western Australia.
There have been big changes to the Glory squad since the end of last season, with 14 new players coming through the doors; two of those new signings will miss the trip to Macarthur through injury (Nicholas Pennington and Nathanael Blair) along with Mustafa Amini who is also injured.
INS & OUTS: All the team news ahead of Round 1
Aside from the sidelined trio, Zdrilic concedes that of the 20 players selected in his Round 1 extended squad, there’s a considerable number not yet up to full fitness and managing workloads will be key through the opening rounds of the campaign.
“There (are) a lot of players in the squad that aren’t fully fit…we need to manage minutes,” he explained.
“That’s the challenge for the first couple of rounds, is who can play (for) long, what role do they play, if it’s a starting player, how long will they last, the guys coming on, how long will they last?
“We have a lot of depth in the squad. So when everyone is back and ready to go I think it’s going to be a very, very good challenge to have. But at the moment it’s the same thing, some players are under that.
“For the philosophy, it’s a big change for everyone. That change, you’re going to see during the season. I’m just delighted the players have bought into it, that it’s been very effective in the pre-season. We’ve had our challenges with just being here and not able to get as many games, but in the games that we have had, I think for the most part it’s been very positive.”
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