Roar coach Ange Postecoglou has insisted he will take his time in recruiting new players for the next Hyundai A-League season with the Brisbane boss announcing his intent to cast a keen eye over the Asian market.
Roar coach Ange Postecoglou has insisted he will take his time in recruiting new players for the next Hyundai A-League season with the Brisbane boss announcing his intent to cast a keen eye over the Asian market.
The Hyundai A-League Champions made their return to the Ballymore training field yesterday after a well-deserved seven week break with 16 members of last year-s squad retained for next season – a campaign which will include the club-s maiden appearance in the AFC Champions League.
With young Sydney FC defender Matt Jurman also set join the Roar after the Sky Blues- current ACL commitments, Postecoglou is left with a minimum of three squad spots to fill before the season kicks off in early October.
After a year which witnessed the emergence of an exciting, new brand of Australian football, a 28-game undefeated streak, the club-s maiden premiership and the most memorable Hyundai A-League grand final in the competition-s short history, Postecoglou-s eagerness to preserve the team-s dynamic was understandable.
“Last year we had to sign 12-13 players, it was a hectic off-season,” Postecoglou said.
“I-ve enjoyed the fact we can be a little more selective and go through the processes.
“It is important that the two or three new ones are the right ones.”
Acknowledging the unique challenge posed by competing in the ACL, Postecoglou said it was only fitting for him and his coaching staff to look to the Asian football competitions to bolster their squad list.
“We-re searching far and wide but there-s no rush with that because we have to get it right,” he said.
“We only have three foreigners on our books at the moment which I-m not too distressed about, especially with the ACL where you can only have three foreigners and an Asian player.
“We-re going to have a look at the Asian markets as well, it makes sense for us to look there.”
However, Postecoglou didn-t believe an influx of new players was the club-s highest priority in the fight to retain their Hyundai A-League Premiership and Championship crowns and make a successful mark in the ACL, where Australian sides have experienced mixed success in recent years.
Instead, the five-time national championship-winning coach claimed that the development of the current crop of Brisbane players was his main concern, despite last season-s overwhelming achievements.
“I don-t think the new additions are going to define our season, I think our season is going to be defined by how much we can improve the players we-ve got here,” Postecoglou said.
“It-s pretty simple our goal – we-ve got to play better, that-s it.
“We-ve got to improve on what we did last year and improve on the way we play.”
With more than five months until next season-s opening round, Postecoglou-s main recruitment focuses are thought to be a striker and a defender to replace departed duo Jean Carlos Solorzano (Melbourne Victory) and Milan Susak (Indonesian Premier League).
