Gary Cutler takes on coaching reins at Heidelberg West in Northern Football League

NEW Heidelberg West coach Gary Cutler wants to change the perception of the perennial cellar-dweller.

Gary Cutler will coach Heidelberg West in 2017. Picture: Brendan Francis

NEW Heidelberg West coach Gary Cutler wants to change the perception of the perennial cellar-dweller.

The Hawks have won just 18 games in the past 10 seasons and have collected six of the past eight Northern Football League wooden spoons, but Cutler wants to help turn the club around.

Cutler said he was not daunted about taking on the position but was under no illusions as to the enormity of the task at hand.

“I’m up for the challenge, my mantra is to leave a club in a better place than you found it and that is my number one role,” Cutler said.

“I know what I’m coming into, I haven’t gone in with my eyes closed.

“If you walk into a club and people don’t want to change then you are up against it but my interviews and feelings with people inside the club, from (president) Paul Byrne down, is that this club really wants to improve.”

Cutler, who replaces Grant Toms, has most recently been the reserves coach at North Heidelberg and had previously coach Yea in the Yarra Valley and Coburg Districts.

Cutler has brought across some of reserves players at North Heidelberg to help the Hawks young players.

Eltham Collegians forward Zach Tranter, who booted 49 goals from 10 games in 2015, has also joined the club.

“I met with the club and they seem to be really wanting to improve,” Cutler said.

“That was my main thing, I wanted to walk into a club and turn it around and make it a better fit for everybody.

“We don’t want to be easy to play against, we want to be really hard and difficult and we want opposition clubs to look at the fixture and think that they’re not looking forward to playing against West.”