How Central Coast Mariners coach Alen Stajcic is rebuilding the club from ‘ground zero’

The mood at the Mariners is a far cry from when coach Alen Stajcic arrived, where “the environment was one where there was a lot of blaming of everything and everyone”.

Coach Alen Stajcic during Mariners Training at Centre of Excellence Tuggerah Tuesday earlier this month. Picture: Sue Graham

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ALEN Stajcic knows that talk is cheap to Central Coast Mariners fans.

The former Matildas coach is under no illusions about the work that needs to be at the A-

League club both on and off the field this season and beyond.

“Having gone to one of the fan forums; they have had so many false dawns, they’ve heard a

lot with things that have been promised, and maybe over-promised and not delivered upon,”

Stajcic said.

“So for me it gets to the point almost that the words don’t matter — it’s about action.

“I know the fans want to have a team they can be proud of and one that they have hope.

“We have to provide that through our actions, on and off the pitch.”

New signing Ziggy Gordon during Mariners training at the Centre of Excellence, Tuggerah Picture: Sue Graham

Signed to a three-year contract by the struggling A-League club, Stajcic has piqued the

interest of new signings such as Scottish defender Ziggy Gordon with the passion he feels for

this “project”.

“You’re almost starting from ground zero in a lot of ways, with a team that’s been on the

bottom for four or five years and it’s not easy to build that up from scratch,” Stajcic said.

While he is not making any grand predictions at this point, Stajcic said performance and

effort would be significantly improved this season.

The mood at the club is a far cry from when he arrived at the Mariners late last season, where

Stajcic said “the environment was one where there was a lot of blaming of everything and

everyone”.

“There was never any accountability by the individual, it was always other people’s fault or

other people’s problem,” he said.

“There wasn’t anyone coming up with solutions, and accountability for how to solve

problems, on or off the field. It was almost that victim-type mentality, which I thought we

needed to change.”

He said the changes had come from new faces and players still at the club who were there last season.

“A lot of the people who have come in this year from other clubs have shown a real desire

and a hunger to prove themselves at A-League level,” Stajcic said.

“(And) a lot of the players who were here from last year have shown the desire to want to

bring the club back up to where we know it could be and should be. There’s a real unified

sense of purpose and positivity. The team is really aligned and unified.”