New Head Coach John Aloisi has made the recruitment of a midfield enforcer his number one priority after taking over the reins of Melbourne Heart FC yesterday.
New Head Coach John Aloisi has made the recruitment of a midfield enforcer his number one priority after taking over the reins of Melbourne Heart FC yesterday.
While Aloisi says he will ultimately look to build on the platform established by John van ‘t Schip, the Socceroo legend believes the side needs to add some steel to its much vaunted guile.
With developing greater consistency his primary aim, Aloisi said the signing of a defensive midfielder would provide necessary stability in the centre of the park, complementing the likes of flair players Fred and Mate Dugandzic.
“You saw last year our consistency wasn-t quite there,” he said. “We played some really good football, at times we destroyed teams but we didn-t control games at times.
“Our sitting midfield, our No.6 that controls a game, can break up a game when opposition gets on top of you, is a key position we-re looking for at the moment.”
With three visa spots available, Aloisi said Heart will certainly look abroad in its search for the necessary spark to catapult the Red and White to the next level.
“We’re looking at a few players. We need to make sure the foreigners we pick up are the right ones. We are hoping by the start of pre-season in June our squad will be full,” he said.
Although Heart achieved its primary aim last season by reaching the final series, Aloisi says he will set his sights higher, declaring his squad to be among the best in the Hyundai A-League.
And while Aloisi said success can be measured by various metrics, he ultimately believes he has the squad at his disposal to challenge for the league crown.
“We’re going to be very ambitious and our goal will be to win the league,” he said. “I believe our squad will be strong enough to compete against anyone in the competition.
“I’m going to be under pressure no matter what, so I might as well be under pressure knowing that I’m going to try and win it.
“I’m not saying if we don’t make the six it’s not going to be a successful year because we might produce two or three young players that no one heard of, or one of the younger players develops into a national team player and goes to the World Cup.
“That’s also success for the club. Personally I would like to see both.”
