Western Sydney Wanderers: Brendon Santalab warns ‘something needs to change’ after missing finals
WANDERERS striker Brendon Santalab has warned that the club needs to redefine its football identity and its playing style after its ‘unacceptable’ elimination from the finals.
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WANDERERS striker Brendon Santalab has warned that the club needs to redefine its football identity and its playing style after its “unacceptable” elimination from the finals.
In a devastating critique of Josep Gombau’s first season at the club, Santalab predicted that “something has to change” at what he admitted remains an “unsettled ship” more than six months after the departure of Tony Popovic.
As the harsh reality of finishing seventh dawned on the club, Santalab revealed he still had no idea whether he would be offered a new deal at Western Sydney, despite being its record goalscorer until Sunday.
Defeat to Adelaide at home in the final round means Western Sydney won’t play in the finals for only the second time, and Santalab admitted the post-match dressing room was not a pleasant environment.
“It wasn’t good at all,” he said. “I went around to the fans (after the game) so I missed the meeting, they didn’t wait for me. There’s disappointment all round because when you have a squad like that and you don’t make the finals, something’s not right.
“What a team that is, just the names. In pre-season you’d have put us up there as title contenders. There’s no excuse this year — with all the changes and everything, we still had an incredible group of players, great footballers, and we should be doing more.
“The team sheet is one of the best in the league, but something’s not clicking and we need to change something.
“Ever since Popa left it’s been an unsettled ship, anyone can see that with the inconsistency all season. We never got a rhythm and something has to change. Whatever that is, it’s out of my control.
“I’m not sure how many players are coming off contract but I’m sure there’ll be big changes.” Santalab said the immediate priority for the club had to be to define its footballing identity, five months into Gombau’s attempts to instil a new style of play.
“We need to see what direction we’re going in first, especially our playing style,” he said. “It never really got going — we had 16 weeks to get it right and we didn’t hit it on the head.
“That’s something we really need to iron out, our vision going forward, how we’re going to play and our strategy.”
After five seasons with the club, Santalab said he had no idea whether a new deal would be offered though he confirmed his desire to play on.
“It could have been my last game for the club, I’m not sure,” he said.
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