EFNL Division 1 2023: Croydon coach Morris D’Alessandro to finish at season’s end

Another Eastern league club has joined the hunt for its next senior coach, with Croydon’s Morris D’Alessandro making a call on his future.

CROYDON has joined the growing list of Eastern league clubs on the hunt for its next senior coach following Morris D’Alessandro’s resignation.

The Blues’ mentor of six years recently informed the club of his decision to step away from his position at the end of the Division 1 season.

The club sits ninth of the division’s 10 teams with five wins and 11 losses and faces the prospect of relegation at year’s end.

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Morris D'Alessandro will leave his post of six years at season’s end. Picture: Davis Harrigan

D’Alessandro landed the head coaching role ahead of the 2018 season – his second stint in charge – steering the club to a grand final in the league’s second tier in 2019.

Croydon president Anthony Thompson paid tribute to D’Alessandro, a great of the club who featured in its last senior premiership side in 1997.

“It’s purely his decision (to step away) … it’s a pretty long tenure and he feels he’s had the group long enough and he’s going to move on,” Thompson said.

“He’s a club legend of ours, life member, past player, and he’s coached twice … he just felt he’d been there a long time and some of these players might benefit from having someone else for the next stage of their football career.

“He’s also got a family and wants to do other things.”

With matches against Montrose (third) and unbeaten ladder-leader South Belgrave to close out the home-and-away campaign, Croydon must make up four points and percentage on eighth-placed Bayswater to avoid relegation.

The bottom two clubs will be demoted to Division 2, with Lilydale’s fate already sealed, sitting winless at the foot of the table.

Thompson denied the club’s on-field fortunes this season had played a part in D’Alessandro’s decision to step down.

“Not at all – it’s just one of those years,” he said.

“We’ve lost a couple of close ones … and you don’t see too many teams winning five or six games getting relegated.

“Any other year we would’ve been well and truly safe – it’s bad luck and bad timing.

“We also had 12 players go overseas which didn’t help our cause.

“But that’s life, we get on with it and we’ll try and bounce back as soon as possible.”

The club has begun advertising for its next senior coach, with Thompson declaring it would expore playing and non-playing options.

“We’re open to a playing-coach, maybe a key position player to add to our list, but we’re also looking at experienced coaches who can take us to the next step with a new game-plan and some fresh ideas, I suppose,” he said.