Perth Glory head coach David Zdrilic said the Isuzu UTE A-League team are “making moves in the background” and their rebuild is going to “happen very quickly” as he provided an update on the club’s transfer plans.
It is a new era for Perth, who have new owners and a new head coach following their wooden-spoon finish in 2023-24 but the Glory have struggled this season with just one point from six matches.
Zdrilic, with the Pelligra Group as owners, is trying to re-shape Perth and introduce a new brand of football after replacing Alen Stajcic this term.
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The former Sydney FC assistant and RB Leipzig youth coach has tweaked his tactics, formation and line-up throughout the opening six rounds, with New Zealand international goalkeeper Oli Sail an unused substitute in the past two games.
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When asked if he expected Sail to still be at the club beyond January transfer window, it triggered an update on Glory’s transfer plans.
“Not looking at that at the moment,” said Zdrilic ahead of Sunday’s clash against high-flying Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park.
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“I think it’s been clear I’ve made many changes in the line-up. In all the press-conferences we’ve done, we’ve gone over the fact we need to find the right balance in this squad.
“However, we’re also making moves in the background for January and next year.
“Obviously we landed where we landed in terms of the squad. I came in July – we have a lot of players from last season, that’s clear. But we’re making a lot of different moves. Some of them are going to start already in January.
“I’m not going to name any players but everybody is going to be looked at and see what the situation is.
“But we clearly know we need to strengthen and know what we need to strengthen and we’re going to start work on it. With the January window there’s limited ability to do things but we’re trying to do everything we can.
“I’ve spoken at length about obviously we’re looking at the results and what’s happening right now, but where we’re going to end up as a club in terms of the personnel of the team, but also the club and all the areas of the club is very different.
“The training venue is the first piece but also the playing roster is going to be very different as we start getting the opportunity to change things. That’s going to happen very quickly.”
