Melbourne Victory boss Kevin Muscat says he’ll turn his attention towards bolstering his attacking options for the new Hyundai A-League season.
Meanwhile, Western Sydney Wanderers’ new recruit explains why he moved Down Under and Melbourne City boss Warren Joyce gives his verdict on his side’s big win on their tour of India.
READ: Wanderers secure ex-Bundesliga defender
READ: Sydney FC sign De Silva in first-ever Intra-League loan
It's all in this edition of Hyundai A-League Paper Talk!
MUSCAT REVEALS HIS RECRUITMENT PLANS
Muscat has begun the overhaul of his Championship-winning squad, bringing in four new defenders ahead of the 2018/19 Season.
Experienced German Georg Neidermeier has joined Nick Ansell, Corey Brown and Storm Roux as defensive reinforcements for Victory, who have seen the likes of Rhys Williams, James Donachie, Stefan Nigro and Jason Geria leave since the turn of the year.
And with his defence now sorted, the Victory boss says his concentration will now turn to the front half of the field.
“Rest assured, we’ve been doing a lot of work and a lot of research and won’t be rushed into making rash decisions,” Muscat told Victory’s official website.
“We’ll take our time to make sure that we’re really comfortable about who we bring to the football.
“There’s also an opportunity to bolster our midfield with what’s going to be another long campaign in the [Hyundai] A-League and also the [AFC] Champions League.”
ZIEGLAR EXCITED BY NEW CHALLENGE
Like Victory, Western Sydney Wanderers have also gone to Germany to find a new defender, with ex-Kaiserslautern centre-back Patrick Ziegler joining the club after a long career in his homeland.
It’s the first time the 187cm tall defender will play abroad and he revealed the reasons behind his decision to join the Wanderers on a three-year deal.
“The main reason why I decided to join the club was (head coach) Markus Babbel,” he told the Wanderers website.
“We had several nice phone conversations where he told me a lot about the club, my new teammates but also about the country, the culture and the lifestyle.
“I like the playing style he wants to play with the team.
"Next to football, as a human, my family and I also want to grow and get to know this new culture that we have heard a lot about."
JOYCE DEMANDS CITY IMPROVEMENT
His team may have won 6-0 against Indian Super League outfit Kerala Blasters, but Melbourne City boss Warren Joyce says there’s plenty to work on before the club’s FFA Cup Round of 32 clash against Brisbane Roar next month.
City were too fit, fast and clinical against Kerala in what Joyce described as a “good workout” for his troops, but knows it’s still early days in the pre-season, with a far tougher challenge next up against Spanish La Liga side Girona on Friday night.
“There are plenty of things we need to improve on and get better at but it has been an enjoyable experience, a fantastic atmosphere from the crowd and good stadium and pitch,” Joyce said on City’s website.
“These are build-up games and we want to obviously win every game that we play but both games (in India) are in preparation for the FFA Cup game and we'll assess on Thursday where everyone is at.
“We dominated possession and the longer it went on, there may have been some tired legs in the second half but we've thrown some kids on who were desperate to impress and they drove the game forward so we got a good workout and we've been appreciative of everything the country has given us.”
City’s final match of their Indian tour kicks-off at 11.30pm AEST, with Australian audiences able to watch the match on Facebook live.
