EYES TURN TO COACHES’ FEUD
Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat and Newcastle mentor Ernie Merrick are usually loath to discuss their long-running feud, but in light of both teams suffering recent blips they may just welcome the diversion.
All eyes will be on the sidelines for the coaches’ customary pre-game and post-game acknowledgement in the wake of last November’s handshake storm after the grand final, with Melbourne Victory hosting the Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park tonight.
The once famous coachcaptain pairing at the Victory have barely spoken since mentor Merrick’s 2011 exit, with the tension palpable in the Victory’s 1-0 grand final win.
Merrick claimed Muscat had avoided him after the decider in Newcastle.
“It’s a regular occurrence – I walked over to the bench to shake hands as I did with the assistant coach, the goalkeeping coach, the fitness coach, but Kevin’s sprinted in the opposite direction over to his fans and I wasn’t going to chase him,” Merrick said at the time.
A jovial Muscat denied the claim yesterday before declaring he would welcome Merrick to his former home.
“Wearing a big red nose might help,” Muscat said.
“I’ll do like I normally do – we’re the home team, we’re the hosts, so I’ll acknowledge Ernie before the game like everybody, or most people have done to me when we travel away.
“They come across and acknowledge, as the hosts, the opponents and welcome or wish them well. And I’ll do that (tonight), like I always do.”
Swede Ola Toivonen will shoulder the burden as Victory try to cover for the absence of star imports Keisuke Honda and Georg Niedermeier.
The Jets have a star absence of their own, with Venezuelan Ronald Vargas suspended after his red card away to Melbourne City last week.