Sydney FC coach Steve Corica on A-League club’s season so far

Sydney FC coach Steve Corica should have been celebrating a likely A-League premiership and plotting the Sky Blues’ path to a second straight championship.

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Sydney FC coach Steve Corica should have been celebrating a likely A-League premiership and plotting the Sky Blues’ path to a second straight championship.

Instead, the former Innisfail Tigers junior is in lockdown in Sydney’s north with no clue as to when he’ll return to his full-time job.

Corica’s Sky Blues were absolutely flying in his second season in charge of the A-League club.

They led nearest rivals Melbourne City by eight points with three games up the sleeve, and had already virtually assured themselves of their third championship in four seasons.

But the coronavirus-forced postponement of the league has placed Sydney FC in a holding pattern, the glamour club desperate to add another piece of silverware to their cabinet as they shoot for their third double.

“Football-wise it’s been a great year,” Corica told the Cairns Post.

“There were goals that we set at the start of the year and we were on the way to achieving those. But this is a difficult period for everyone, it’s not just about football.”

Football Federation Australia announced the immediate postponement of the A-League on March 24.

The governing body’s goal has been to reschedule the season’s remaining games as soon as “reasonably possible”, with officials to be guided by health and medical advice as well as the status of government restrictions.

The FFA and National COVID-19 Working Committee are expected to revisit the league’s suspension today.

A green light would allow for Corica and his staff – who meet regularly via teleconferencing software – to plot how the Sky Blues, who have sat atop the A-League ladder for all but five rounds of the season, would navigate their remaining eight games.

The enforced break has given Corica a little time to reflect on what the club has achieved so far this season.

After Sydney FC travelled to Cairns for a pre-season training camp and 7-0 flogging of a FNQ Select XI, the Sky Blues launched into the FFA Cup – where they were sent packing 2-0 by the Brisbane Roar.

“Other than that it was smooth sailing,” Corica said.

“We had a good feeling after that first game (a 3-2 win against Adelaide United). We’d improved on where we were last season, and we’d built something different. You could see the confidence in the guys.”

Sydney FC has won 15 of 20 games, dropping points in just five games – three draws and two 1-0 losses to arch rival Wanderers.

Originally published as Sydney FC coach Steve Corica on A-League club’s season so far