Perth Glory signing Andy Todd is determined to start afresh at the Western Australian club after two season’s of disappointment at struggling Derby County.
Thirty-four-year-old Todd was officially unveiled by the Glory on Monday after signing a one-year contract at the A-League club, the central defender having the option of extending his time in Perth after the first season.
Todd was one of two signings announced, the club also confirming that Serbian striker Branko Jelic had agreed to a three-year deal after being released from his current contract by German Bundesliga club Energie Cottbus with a year remaining.
Todd, though, has spent the past week in Perth and agreed to the new contract after completing a medical at the club last Thursday.
After weeks of speculation over his signing, he said he’s now solely concentrating on football and helping lift the Glory into the Hyundai A-League’s finals for the first time in the new competition four-year history.
He said this was particularly important for him personally after being part of the Derby squad that was relegated from the Premier League in 2007-08 and which struggled for survival on its return to the Coca Cola Championship last season.
“It’s been the toughest time of my career,” was Todd’s frank assessment.
“Going to Derby just promoted to the Premier League and then going down with an all-time low 11 points, I’ve still got a bad taste in my mouth now from it to be honest.”
“It’s embarrassing really. But Nigel Clough came in (as Derby’s new manager after Paul Jewell) and he stopped the rot a little bit but I think its going to take it’s time for that club to recover.”
“It was awful, we just got stuck in a rut of losing games and we just couldn’t get out of it and even this season was the same until late on.”
“We stayed up with two games to go and it’s not good enough for a club of Derby’s stature, so I want to come here and try and achieve things.”
“Playing games and getting your confidence back and winning games, gets that bad taste out of your mouth.”
“(And) I’m delighted to come, yeah, I think the club’s trying to progress.
Todd comes into the squad to partly cover the loss of Hayden Foxe, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Dino Djulbic and David Tarka from the central defensive position, after they all left the club at the end of last season.
Glory coach Dave Mitchell said the former Blackburn captain was exactly what the club needed, a tough no-nonsense defender, with good leadership qualities and a reliable character.
“Andy brings a wealth of experience,” Mitchell said. “He’s obviously, a very good player, he reads the game well and he’s a great passer.”
“In the past, the clubs made some signings that probably weren’t the best but this time we wanted to make sure we looked at players,” Mitchell added, referring to a month-long recruiting trip to Europe where he and club chief executive Lui Guliani interviewed prospective players.
“We went overseas and made sure that we eyeballed players, spoke to them. It’s not just about their playing ability, it’s their stature within the game and their personality as well. Andy fits the bill to a tee like that,” he said.
Mitchell said he was still looking for more defenders as cover at centre back, while club owner Tony Sage confirmed the Glory were in serious negotiation with two other players, Sage saying the squad would be completed by the of this month.
The Glory have already signed fringe Socceroo Jacob Burns, along with Todd and Jelic for this season.
