Perth Glory has the personnel to push deep into the finals of the 2010 A-League season, and word from the camp is the side has its eye on being the first Australian winner of the Asian Champions League, as the club launched its season on Thursday.
Chairman Tony Sage, coach Dave Mitchell and captain Jacob Burns were not mincing words at the Burswood Entertainment Complex, as they discussed their expectations of the Glory after a heavy investment in personnel in the off-season.
The club has added a number of new faces on and off the park, including assistant coach Ian Ferguson, Craiova duo Michael Baird and Josh Mitchell, and English import Robbie Fowler.
Sage took the microphone first, saying anything less than a top-six finish in 2010 would be a ‘massive disappointment’.
Mitchell echoed that it would be a ‘tragedy’ should the Glory not progress past the home-and-away stage, and their captain thinks they can go all the way.
It was left to Fowler, who has been around the block some in his 17-year career, to play the ‘long season’ card.
“I think on paper we’re as good as any squad out there,” Fowler said.
“On paper, yeah, we should be finishing right up at the top of the table. But to give the clichéd answer, let’s just get to the finals first and take it from there.”
After a disappointing season last year, the club are ready to announce themselves as premiership contenders in 2010, with Sage’s bold declaration of finals glory drawing applause from the audience.
“(Reaching the top six) is the no. 1 aim,” he said.
“The second is then to get a home final, so that’s top-four.”
“I think we’ve got a very good team off the field now, and a very good team on the field. Yes, it’s cost a lot of money. I don’t bitch about it, that’s what you have to do if you want to win.”
“So I’m more than happy to do that to get the premiership back to Perth and my aim is obviously to do that. And go one step further, and I’ve always said it, to hold that Asian Champions League trophy.”
“No club’s done it so far, and I want to be the first in Australia to do that.”
Mitchell echoed Sage’s sentiment, saying the club had the ‘calibre’ to compete with the top teams.
“The pre-season’s been good, and I’m more than happy,” the coach said.
“If we don’t get in the top six it’ll be a tragedy, but we’re looking for a top-four spot, which is a home final, and with a bit of luck we can get the top two.”
Burns, captaining the side for the second year, believes his troops can go beyond top-six.
“I think we really have a team that can win it,” he said.
“And I think if we set our sights that high then we will get a home final, and we can go on from there and hopefully compete in ACL.”
Burns singled out young gun Joshua Risdon as a player who has impressed him tremendously in the pre-season, but says the youth squad as a whole has stepped up.
“(Risdon is) someone that I didn’t know much about last season,” he said.
“To come in and just look so comfortable like has done in all the pre-season games, I’m really looking forward to him getting a start and getting a gig and showing everyone what he’s capable of.”
“I’ve found in this pre-season that (the young players) have really come of age and really lain the gauntlet down, if you like, for the senior pro’s to be on their game.”
“And that’s fantastic, what you want is a squad competing…all over the park.”
Fowler, who played 45 minutes in the Glory’s friendly win over the WA State team on Wednesday night, hopes to be available for Perth’s season opener against North Queensland Fury on August 6.
