Dandenong Thunder signs former NPL Victoria Coach of the Year for 2024 season

Following Sam Elmazi’s decision to step down on the eve of the NPL season, Dandenong Thunder has reacted swiftly and secured a former Coach of the Year.

New Dandenong Thunder coach Adam Piddick.

Dandenong Thunder has secured a NPL Victoria Coach of the Year to lead the club into the 2024 season.

The Thunder were forced into a dramatic late change of coach just days out from Round 1 after Sam Elmazi stepped down.

However, the club has responded swiftly and secured former Port Melbourne manager Adam Piddick.

Piddick was named Coach of the Year in 2022 after guiding the Sharks to a second-placed finish in the league and preliminary final finish.

He has also had success in NPL Queensland where he took Moreton Bay United to a grand final appearance in 2017.

However, stepping in so late will be a new challenge.

“They just gave me a buzz and obviously I’m free at the moment in terms of coaching seniors,” Piddick said.

“I went in, had a bit of a chat, and I thought this is a different challenge.

“I haven’t been in that type of environment before and they wanted someone to come in and change their environment, in terms of making it more professioanl, and that’s something I wanted to to.

“We’re ready to go, we’ve got to fit six weeks into two weeks.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge intially, getting everyone up to speed and trying to bring players in at this time.

“It is what it is and that’s part of the challenge I’m excited about.”

Piddick will look to build on Elmazi’s work in the off-season after the club undertook a near-complete rebuild.

The Thunder has welcomed the likes of South Melbourne pair Lirim Elmazi and Ali Sulemani, former A-League goalkeeper Pierce Clark, three-time Golden Boot winner Brandon Barnes and Paul Kuol (Kingston City).

Thunder has finished eighth in each of the past two seasons.

Piddick was confident he could still achieve some strong results this season.

“I’ve always have expectations of myself, the expectation is to be competitive in every game first and foremost,” he said.

“Where we go from there, we can reassess, but we’re pretty much starting new so it may take a month or two months before you see dramatic change.

“Football is funny, sometimes you might hit the ground running and win games and teams and players get confident.

“We’re going out to win every game, is that a realistic target? I’ll leave that up to everyone else.”

Dandenong Thunder will kick off its NPL season in just 17 days, on Saturday, February 10, when it hosts Hume City at George Andrews Reserve.

THUNDER COACH STEPS DOWN ON EVE OF SEASON

Dandenong Thunder is searching for a new coach just 17 days out from the new NPL Victoria season.

The club announced Sam Elmazi had decided to step down on Monday night after five months in charge at George Andrews Reserve.

A statement on the club’s Facebook page, posted at 11.11pm, confirmed the news.

“The seniors head coach Samson Elmazi has decided to step down due to personal reasons,” it read.

“We appreciate his efforts and wish him the best in his future endeavours.

“Let’s unite as Thunder remains determined and focused for the upcoming season.”

Elmazi oversaw a near-complete rebuild of the Thunder playing list after coming on board in August last year.

NPL: REFRESHED CANNONS READY TO TACKLE NPL SUMMIT

LEADER: GET YOUR NPL VICTORIA FOOTBALL NEWS HERE

NPL: EVERY NPL/VPL CLUB’S SUMMER SIGNINGS CONFIRMED

Dandenong has added some considerable talent over the off-season.

South Melbourne pair Lirim Elmazi and Ali Sulemani, former A-League goalkeeper Pierce Clark, three-time Golden Boot winner Brandon Barnes and Paul Kuol (Kingston City) have been announced.

Dandenong Thunder has been contacted.