Perth Glory head coach David Zdrilic has a clear message to the club’s fans: “We’re definitely going to have a go in every game and that’s what they’re going to see.”
Zdrilic sat down with Perth’s media team to preview Saturday night’s Australia Cup Round-of-32 showdown against Melbourne City at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
This will be Glory’s second competitive hit out under new boss Zdrilic, who replaced Alen Stajcic (now at Western Sydney Wanderers) in the Isuzu UTE A-League off-season.
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It’s a new era in Western Australia. Not only are there new owners, but a new coach with a new philosophy and new players leading the charge at a club that finished bottom of the Isuzu UTE A-League last season.
“The boys are in great shape,” Zdrilic said. “They’ve embraced everything we’re trying to do.
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“When I came in and the new coaching staff and a lot of new things happening at the club, we spoke about changing the identity and the football philosophy and in the first game, you saw the first steps in the right direction. It was great to get a positive result.
“The mood is very good, very confident. The training – we’ve been able to keep adding the building blocks and looking forward to the game against City. We’re looking forward to taking another step, particularly in the way we want to play and showing we have a totally new style and philosophy.”
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With former Sydney FC assistant Zdrilic at the helm, Perth are adopting a high-octane brand of football and relentless pressing style.
It is a style which he helped implement alongside Sydney FC head coach Ufuk Talay last season – through his experience with the Red Bull Group at German Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig, working with the likes of Austria head coach Ralf Rangnick and current Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann.
“I think the most important thing for me is the progression in the style we’re trying to play,” said Zdrilic. “The players have embraced it – there’s a lot of detail but for where we are in pre-season, it’s been excellent. I don’t think we need to get ahead of ourselves. What we’re trying to do is totally change the mindset, of not the only the players but the club.
“This game against City is the next step in that progression. It’s about how we perform and how we try and apply the new principles we’ve been working on.”
Zdrilic continued: “When I first came in and spoke about changing a lot of things here – starting with the football philosophy but also different culture. We spoke about new owner, sporting director, coaching staff and a lot of the playing group is new. That’s just the playing and coaching staff etc.
“The fans play a crucial role in embracing, not just the players embracing, but the fans too. If they do do that, it will be a massive push. We have a fantastic fan base who want to see an attacking brand of football. I think we’ve delivered that already. Now it’s our job to keep enhancing that and backing it up every week.
“I think we can guarantee we’re definitely going to have a go in every game and that’s what they’re going to see.”
“The fans want to see a very clear and positive change. I think they’ve seen it already and are quite pleasantly pleased that we’re at least saying the right things,” Zdrilic added.
“But that’s only one part of it. We need to do it as well. The first step was against Brisbane and the next step is against City.”
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