With Glory’s ALM squad having completed almost two weeks of their pre-season program, we took the opportunity to get a progress report from Head Coach, David Zdrilic.
PG Media: Zdrila, how pleased have you been with the way pre-season has gone so far?
DZ: It’s been excellent.
The first thing for us is that we have a new facility here at Mirrabooka, which is a big, big thing for the club.
To work out of our own high-performance training ground where we just step out onto the field makes a huge difference.
It’s something that the club was really trying to make strides towards last year and now it’s come to fruition.
We still have some improvements to make in certain areas, but the facility is great and a big thank you goes to the City of Stirling and WA State Government for their support.
On the pitch, we have a lot of new players who have brought a new energy to the group and it’s been a very good first two weeks.
PG Media: It sounds as if the new players have settled in well…
DZ: They have.
There’s some real quality there and we’ve seen that straight away in the training levels.
We have a really good group, there’s a good atmosphere and we have two games coming up at the end of the month, so it’s really important that we get as much work in as we can before those two games.
PG Media: What have been your key messages to the group in these early stages of what is a long pre-season?
DZ: It is a long pre-season, but you have a very early target to prepare for first, which is the Australia Cup game [home v Wellington Phoenix on Sunday 27 July].
So the first thing for us is to try and gel the group together and obviously get a base level of fitness.
We’re trying to implement as much as we can before that first game.
We have to get as many of the ideas across now with new players and new relationships being formed.
We’re trying to make sure we maximise all the time and this new facility allows us to do that as we’re right here on the ground straight away and that’s really helping us have more time with the players.
PG Media: What was your reaction when Wellington came out of the hat as Glory’s Round of 32 opponents?
DZ: It’s a long trip for them and having an A-League team in a similar situation to us at home, I think it’s a good draw.
We faced similar last year [Melbourne City at home in the Round of 32] and with limited time before the game for both teams, it really is just who can get the most fitness into the legs at the start and have your squad together.
All the teams are still building and we’re still trying to add players as well, so the focus is getting the fitness up and preparing as well as we can.
We’re really looking forward to it.
PG Media: Four days after the Wellington Cup tie, Glory face AC Milan at HBF Park.
How much are you looking forward to taking on a club of that stature?
DZ: AC Milan is actually a club that I followed when I was young, when Zvonimir Boban was playing there.
They are an iconic team in the world, not just in Italy.
It’s a big occasion for the fans and not just our fans, but Australian football fans in general.
It’s another big test for us early on in the pre-season to gel the squad together and we’re looking forward to it.
Tickets for the international friendly against AC Milan at HBF Park on Thursday 30 July can be booked HERE.
Venue and ticketing details for the Hahn Australia Cup game meeting with Wellington Phoenix will be confirmed shortly.
#ONEGlory
Zdrila pleased with pre-season progress
