Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar has pledged his allegiance to the Reds and will be looking for a contract extension after the club’s Asian Champions League final against Gamba Osaka.
United’s profile has risen dramatically since being involved in the ACL and it is believed a number of players have been headhunted by Asian teams impressed by what they’ve seen.
Vidmar is also considered a prime target for developing clubs in the region.
But the South Australian coach, who only took the reigns of his local side in May 2007, is keen to continue his journey at Hindmarsh Stadium.
“I haven’t had any offers and I’m not even interested in any offers,” Vidmar said.
“I think it’s the best club in the country by far and the support that you have from the club, not just from the owners but also the CEO, the football director, everyone around the club is so supportive.”
“If you’ve got that support it will only make you want to work harder to achieve the result.”
“At this point of time I’m extremely happy here,” Vidmar said.
Vidmar said his personal future wasn’t at the forefront of his mind during such a critical time for the team.
“All I’m worried about is, first of all what’s important for the club, that we get over the hurdle on Friday night against Melbourne and then we’ve got two of the biggest games in our club’s history and that’s my only concern,” he said.
But he did intimate he’d be looking for a longer deal with the club after the ACL had concluded.
“Once all this weary travel and commitment is out the way, then I’m sure that the club will sit down and have a chat,” he said.
Veteran defender Ang Costanzo said he was keen for Vidmar to stay.
“He’s done a fantastic job. He took over at not a difficult stage, but it was a hard time for the club and he’s done well,” Costanzo said.
“We managed to get through that (first) Champions League alright and the A-League we started off well last year, we were top at one stage, then we had a lot of injuries and stuff.”
“This year has been fantastic, all the players are enjoying it under him.”
Costanzo said Vidmar was a sound tactician, had employed a more defensive approach and was a good communicator.
“He’s a good manager of players you can go and talk to him. He’s pretty young as well so he’s pretty reasonable where you can go and talk to him and let him know how you are going,” he said.
