Experienced Melbourne Heart goalkeeper Clint Bolton has described the impending departure of coach John van 't Schip as a massive loss to a club that has been defined by the Dutchman.
Experienced Melbourne Heart goalkeeper Clint Bolton has described the impending departure of coach John van 't Schip as a massive loss to a club that has been defined by the Dutchman.
Van 't Schip announced that he would leave the Heart at the end of the season as he moves back to Europe for personal and professional reasons after two seasons in charge.
Bolton is a rarity among the current crop of Heart players in that he is one of only four over the age of 30.
He said the departure of van 't Schip will be particularly felt by the young players who had been nurtured into professional football by the former Ajax and Genoa man.
"It's a massive loss for the club because he's been here from the start and he's implemented a lot of what goes on here and the whole culture of the club is based around him in a lot of ways," Bolton said.
"To lose him now is huge blow for all of us. Obviously he is going home for personal reasons as well as professional reasons, good luck to him, but his imprint has been left on this club and it's been a good one, a great one."
But despite the potential impact of van 't Schip's departure, Bolton said there has been no signs in the 24 hours since the decision became public that it will have an immediate effect on the playing group.
"It's business as usual. It was handled right. He made his decision earlier in the week and got it out of the way so we can move on, instead of dragging it out too much," he said.
"From what I can hear around the boys, there's no real effect, we just get on with business."
That business includes a crucial Melbourne derby against Victory at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Bolton sees the match as a real crossroads for the two teams, who are each enduring slumps in recent weeks.
Heart are winless in six and Victory are winless in four making a win on Saturday vital for the two sides.
"We're on a six-game run without a win, and we need to reverse that pretty quickly. The derby seems to come around at a perfect time as usual," he said.
"For both teams, it's another case of must-win and whoever wins this game, psychologically it will propel us into the finals."
"It's still a fair way from the finals, but the edge that the winning team gets in this one. It's bigger than just a normal three points."
"There's pressure on them, that doesn't help when they are the biggest team in the league. A lot of pressure and that's just what makes this game vitally important for both teams."