Brisbane Roar boss John Aloisi says the club will look to bolster its squad in the attacking third but insists he won’t rush into signing overseas players ahead of the new Hyundai A-League season.
Roar returned for pre-season training on Monday minus familiar faces Henrique, Steven Lustica, Jean Carlos Solorzano and James Donachie who have all moved on.
“There’s always going to be players that move on from a football club. The players that have moved on represented the club really well and were successful,” Aloisi told reporters.
“We’ll bring in players that will suit our style. We know the football we want to play.
“It’s an attacking style of football that’s exciting to watch and like we did most of the season last year.
“Players move on but we’ll bring in players that can play that way and that will excite our fans.”
While he wouldn’t be drawn on specific players, Aloisi revealed he would priortise attacking positions for the visa players and hinted he could promote a youngster from the club’s youth team.
“We’ve still got a few players we can get from overseas. We’ve still got foreign spots available. But it’s making sure that we get the right players in to add to our squad,” he said.
“We’ve got some spots that will of course be probably more important than other spots. Then there’s one or two spots still available for a younger player to come through, maybe from our youth team.
“At the back we’re quite covered at the moment. More midfielders and attacking players that we’re looking for. Hopefully they can bring excitement and win us football games.
“We didn’t get [Spanish midfielder] Corona in until two weeks before the start of the season and he won our best player last season.
“We know sometimes it might take a little bit longer. As a coach and as a club you’d love everyone you’re going to start with for the season here day one, but it’s not always the case.”
The Roar’s first competitive outing for the new campaign is just under a month away as they tackle Perth Glory in the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 at Ballymore on August 10.
Aloisi admits his side won’t be at their best against the 2015 finalists and says the club’s focus is on the Hyundai A-League season proper in October.
“We want to win the game but knowing we won’t be at our peak because we have to get ready for the start of the season.
“And the start of the season is in October against Victory here.
“We want to make sure we have a good preparation during pre-season. The FFA Cup is part of that.
“Do we want to make the final of the FFA Cup? We’d love to but we have to make sure there’s no-one breaking down in pre-season either.”
