ATTACKING MENTALITY

Q Last year, you coached the Ipswich-based Western Pride to a third-place finish in the Queensland NPL. How did that come about?

A Myself and (former coach) Graham Harvey had been in contact for a few years as we knew each other from the state league. He knew I was doing assistant coaching with PNG so he asked me to come to the Pride and do it there. About halfway through the season he picked up an opportunity to coach in Hong Kong, so I took over as head coach.

Q The Pride was known for its attacking prowess and scored the most goals of any team last season – does this represent your football philosophy?

A In terms of my own philosophy, I am an attacking-minded coach. As much as I like to have a good balance and think that’s important, I am attacking minded. But in order to be attacking oriented you need to have good foundations. No matter how you want to defend – whether you want to be really regimented or have a good base – I think it’s really important to have that good foundation off the ball. It opens up more opportunities in attack.

Q You also put a focus on the younger, up-and-coming players?

A I like to give them a chance and I guess it was just based off my own experiences and opportunities as a young player. The old phrase goes: if you’re good enough you’re old enough. And that’s the way I look at it. If you understand what the coach needs and you are showing ability, then you’ll get the opportunity. It doesn’t matter how old your are, how experienced or inexperienced if you’re good enough you’ll play. Obviously, having the right mentality and attitude helps too.

Q What were the biggest lessons you took out of your time in the coaching role?

A Time management was massive, as well as understanding the detail that goes into planning the weeks and days ahead and managing players.