Ahead of Round One against Central Coast Mariners, Head Coach Theo Tsiounis looks ahead to the challenge of facing the reigning Champions and what his side intends to bring to Gosford.
Tsiounis on Central Coast Mariners’ squad turnover and preparing for the unknown:
“Our focus has generally always been on what we’re doing. So, that won’t change against them. We just need to continue to develop and improve what we do. Obviously, we acknowledge the strength of some of the teams and individual qualities, but the focus once again will be on us, what we do, and how we perform.”
Tsiounis on the side’s positive pre-season results and how they carry that momentum into the season:
“I think that it’s been an enjoyable few weeks. I think that opportunity to once again put some things into practice against some quality opposition in Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, and also give all our girls opportunity to play competitive pre-season games, which over the years they haven’t necessarily had the time away. It also enabled us to develop strong relationships as a staff and also get to know the players. There were so many positives that have come out of this pre-season, and I think we’re in a good position moving into round one and the rest of the season.”
Tsiounis on losing the Club’s two highest goal-scorers to injury for Round One:
“I think the focus is always going to be on the team. It’s obviously not ideal. However, it provides an opportunity for some other players to step in and I’m sure they’ll do very well. Once again, we can tweak a few things to see the attributes of the players, but I think it just kid of shows the depth that we have and also the opportunities that players will get to play and hopefully keep their spots.”
Tsiounis on the competition within the squad for starting spots:
“In any high performance environment you want competition and that’s what we’re trying to develop here. Healthy competition brings out the best in every individual, so that’s what we’re looking for. Everyone has been fantastic and gets along really well on and off the field. We’re going to kind of maintain that and hopefully we’ve got a healthy squad for the remainder of the season where competition is high and players are earning their spots on the field.
