Brisbane Roar Head Coach Michael Valkanis says his side’s disastrous ending to the 2025/26 A-League Men season has left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it’s one that’s fuelling the Roar heading into the new campaign.
After a promising start to the season which saw the Roar sat third on the ladder heading into the new year, a combination of injuries and a congested fixture list saw Valkanis’ side suffer a drastic dip in form.
After defeating the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on New Years Eve the Roar recorded just one additional win during the 2025/26 season and failed to win any of their last 12 matches, with their significant drop off seeing them go from potential Premiership contenders to an 11th-place finish.
TRANSFER CENTRE: A-League Men 2026/27 Transfer Centre: Your club’s moves
Speaking at the club’s 2026/27 A-League Men season launch on Wednesday afternoon, Vakanis says the end to the previous campaign still stings.
“Yeah, look, I think there was a bitter end to the season. It left a bitter taste in my mouth anyway and a lot of supporters’ for sure,” Valkanis said.
“The worst thing about it was that, and I’ve apologised to a lot of fans, we really pushed that expectation.
“We created an amazing energy that everyone got really excited, and then you know during that difficult period in January where we had four games in 10 days, which I still talk about because I think it’s not right, that affected our team and our squad depth and the players we had and the balance that we had in the squad.
“That didn’t only affect the ladder and the points and losing games, but also getting injuries in that period, which we didn’t really recover from.
He continued: “Towards the end, and I don’t like dwelling on last season, but I think towards the end we pushed and pushed, and there were games where we were just that detail away from playing finals again.
“So that disappointment is what we want to get back and get the fans excited again, and we can only do that once the season starts, and giving our all.
“And if it’s going to be anyone, anywhere, any time, well, that’s me. That’s me as a person. I’ve always been that, and I love my teams to be that as well.”
Following their disappointing end to the campaign Valkanis and his football department set about rebuilding their squad ahead of the season.
In total 17 players departed the Roar including the likes of club captain Jay O’Shea, strikers Chris Long and Michael Ruhs, goalkeeper Macklin Freke and young midfield talent Sam Klein, who was sold to German side St Pauli.
With that in mind the club has been busy strengthening their side, bringing in 11 players including Socceroo Joel King, former Premier League midfielder Tyrese Francois, Moldovan international striker Virgiliu Postolachi as well as former club captain Tom Aldred and South Korean international Nam Tae-hee.
MUST READ: Brisbane Roar legend opens up over emotional return: ‘Bring me home’
Initially scheduled to face Adelaide United in Matchweek 1 the Roar will now sit out the first weekend of the season due to the Reds’ participation in the AFC Champions League Two.
Whilst the re-arranged fixture naturally comes as a disappointment for Valkanis, the additional week will give the Roar boss time to further work on what he promises will be a different style of football for the new season.
“I really like the way things are building at the moment,” Valkanis said when speaking at the club’s media day on Wednesday.
“A little bit different to last season. But sure enough, the group is gelling (and) you can see a really good bond between them.
“The football we want to play is coming along really well and now it’s just about having more games between them, having such a new squad.
“But we’re going to give everything and there’s no doubt about it, this team is always going to work very hard and push themselves and have that Queenslander mentality to give everything on the pitch.
“But at the same time we want to bring a little bit more entertainment and a little bit more attacking football. I think we created chances to win games last season and we didn’t score them, this year we have to put away the ball.”
Brisbane Roar fans will get to see their side in action in Matchweek 2 of the new A-League Men season when they host Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium on Friday, October 23.
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE 2026/27 A-LEAGUE MEN SEASON
