Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has confirmed that Dave Mitchell will continue as coach next season after taking the club to its first Hyundai A-League finals appearance.
Despite being halfway through a two-year contract at Perth, reports had indicated Mitchell was preparing to step out of the hot seat and into a football director’s role with the Glory, allowing another coach to take his place.
But speaking on Thursday, Sage said the club was already in preparation mode for next season with Mitchell at the helm.
“There’s been a lot of talk about him changing role, but I decided against that,” Sage said.
“That’s my call and any of the fans out there who want to have a go, have a go at me and not the rest of the club,” he added.
Sage’s words come in the wake of various Perth Glory online fan forums publishing calls for Mitchell to be removed after the club suffered an almost disastrous mid-season slump that saw it win just one game from 10 from Round 10 onwards.
If the Glory had missed the finals, then Mitchell’s contract would have been terminated, as the second year was conditional upon the club reaching the play-offs.
But some shrewd recruiting by Mitchell during the January transfer window, where he added striker Daniel McBreen on loan from North Queensland and solid Scottish midfielder Steven McGarry, helped turn the Glory’s fortunes around as they finished fifth overall before bowing out to Wellington in a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out.
But while the senior team is now preparing to jet off on its post-season trip, Perth’s National Youth League side is gearing up for its own maiden Grand Final appearance as it heads to Melbourne to take on Gold Coast United on Saturday afternoon at Etihad Stadium.
The clash is a warm-up to the Hyundai A-League Grand Final between Melbourne and Sydney but any chance of it being a more timid affair appear to have gone as Sage urged his young charges to get one up over his business rival, Clive Palmer, owner of the Gold Coast franchise.
The Glory’s Youth side was significantly boosted on Thursday by news it was receiving a $1 million sponsorship boost over the next two seasons as the club signed off on a deal with investment firm GNS China.
The deal was facilitated through Sage’s contacts in the Chinese business community and the money will certainly help cover Perth’s travel and accommodation costs, which Sage believes increased by 10-15 per cent this season as the club played more National Youth League games.
The deal also sees the Glory Youth side qualify for the Weifang tournament in August this year, where the club will take on National Youth sides from China, South Korea and Japan, along with Chinese champion Shandong Luneng’s equivalent.
“Just the fact to go over there and play against that quality of opposition, and the fact that we’re representing the whole of Australia … that’s due to the quality of the sponsor that we’ve got,” Sage said.
Although details hadn’t been finalised, the sponsorship arrangement may also see the Glory senior’s side taking on Shandong either before the next season begins or during October/November this year during a recognised FIFA break.
