midfielder
Well-Known Member
Good to see LM making some comments about our squad ... I think he has a point about quality ... Huke, Travis, Doig, & McGlinchey ... are much better players than those they replaced... and if the other back we are trailing is up to standard we are in for a good year....
http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/a-league/mariners-look-overseas-to-break-drought-of-2009/2009/07/30/1248546823602.html
Mariners look overseas to break drought of 2009
July 31, 2009
The coach of the little club that could is confident it can bounce back, writes Michael Cockerill.
No wins in 09
No wins in 09 Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna.
Central Coast Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna insists hes still the man for the job, maintaining the players will jump through a wall for me as the perennial underdogs prepare to again prove the doubters wrong this season.
With the club having a woeful year in which the team has gone winless in 11 competitive matches in both the A-League and Asian Champions League some suggest McKinna might have lost the Midas touch that guided the Mariners to a minor premiership and two grand final appearances in four years.
But having unpicked the most stable squad in the competition, and with two more seasons left on his contract, McKinna insists hes as focused and motivated as ever to guide the Mariners back to the summit, starting with next Thursday nights season-opener against champions Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium.
Asked whether he can still get the best out of his players, McKinna replies: Ive been close to the players from the beginning, I had relationships with a lot of them before the Mariners, and nothings changed. Weve got a good working relationship, we work hard for each other; theres no reason why that will change. I can still get the best out of them, go ask them. If I want the players to jump through a wall for me, theyll do it. Im sure.
McKinna admits the reshaping of the squad which has so far yielded three new imports with two more possible foreign arrivals before the club closes the books has helped. The new-look Mariners have recently drawn three and won one pre-season matches against A-League opposition.
We had the most stable squad in the league. I think 11 of the players last season were there from the beginning, he says. For four years, that squad served us well, but it was time to turn things over. Which we did. So in a way it feels like a fresh start. Weve got some new boys in, and the mood has changed a wee bit. The boys from last season are hurting, same as I and the rest of the coaching staff. The new boys will help freshen things up, and theyve settled really well.
When you dont win games, the confidence goes out of the camp, but weve had a good short, sharp, pre-season and I think were getting that back now. Obviously I was disappointed how we finished last season. Then we went into the Asian Champions League and didnt win in six games, which made things look worse than they are. So well have to prove the doubters wrong again. But I dont feel any pressure at all. The only pressure is what I put on myself. We just have to forget last season and get on with it. The board, the supporters, they expect us to be up there again, and so they should. Weve always set our own standards, weve never agreed that weve overachieved. Weve been one of the most successful teams in the A-League for a reason, and were good enough to be up there again.
The Mariners have departed from policy by signing three foreigners Scottish defender Chris Doig, New Zealand playmaker Michael McGlinchey and English midfielder Nicky Travis but McKinna insists it is less about a change of approach, and more about the new economic realities in the game.
Ive always said if we could find foreigners who were better than what weve got, and we could afford them, then wed bring them in, he says.
Now we can. The market overseas, the wages have dropped. And with two new teams coming in [North Queensland and Gold Coast], the local talent is spread thin, so its the right time to be bringing people in
http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/a-league/mariners-look-overseas-to-break-drought-of-2009/2009/07/30/1248546823602.html
Mariners look overseas to break drought of 2009
July 31, 2009
The coach of the little club that could is confident it can bounce back, writes Michael Cockerill.
No wins in 09
No wins in 09 Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna.
Central Coast Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna insists hes still the man for the job, maintaining the players will jump through a wall for me as the perennial underdogs prepare to again prove the doubters wrong this season.
With the club having a woeful year in which the team has gone winless in 11 competitive matches in both the A-League and Asian Champions League some suggest McKinna might have lost the Midas touch that guided the Mariners to a minor premiership and two grand final appearances in four years.
But having unpicked the most stable squad in the competition, and with two more seasons left on his contract, McKinna insists hes as focused and motivated as ever to guide the Mariners back to the summit, starting with next Thursday nights season-opener against champions Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium.
Asked whether he can still get the best out of his players, McKinna replies: Ive been close to the players from the beginning, I had relationships with a lot of them before the Mariners, and nothings changed. Weve got a good working relationship, we work hard for each other; theres no reason why that will change. I can still get the best out of them, go ask them. If I want the players to jump through a wall for me, theyll do it. Im sure.
McKinna admits the reshaping of the squad which has so far yielded three new imports with two more possible foreign arrivals before the club closes the books has helped. The new-look Mariners have recently drawn three and won one pre-season matches against A-League opposition.
We had the most stable squad in the league. I think 11 of the players last season were there from the beginning, he says. For four years, that squad served us well, but it was time to turn things over. Which we did. So in a way it feels like a fresh start. Weve got some new boys in, and the mood has changed a wee bit. The boys from last season are hurting, same as I and the rest of the coaching staff. The new boys will help freshen things up, and theyve settled really well.
When you dont win games, the confidence goes out of the camp, but weve had a good short, sharp, pre-season and I think were getting that back now. Obviously I was disappointed how we finished last season. Then we went into the Asian Champions League and didnt win in six games, which made things look worse than they are. So well have to prove the doubters wrong again. But I dont feel any pressure at all. The only pressure is what I put on myself. We just have to forget last season and get on with it. The board, the supporters, they expect us to be up there again, and so they should. Weve always set our own standards, weve never agreed that weve overachieved. Weve been one of the most successful teams in the A-League for a reason, and were good enough to be up there again.
The Mariners have departed from policy by signing three foreigners Scottish defender Chris Doig, New Zealand playmaker Michael McGlinchey and English midfielder Nicky Travis but McKinna insists it is less about a change of approach, and more about the new economic realities in the game.
Ive always said if we could find foreigners who were better than what weve got, and we could afford them, then wed bring them in, he says.
Now we can. The market overseas, the wages have dropped. And with two new teams coming in [North Queensland and Gold Coast], the local talent is spread thin, so its the right time to be bringing people in
