Adelaide United to ‘ignore outside noise’ in bid to contend for A-League title

Adelaide United will ‘fight to win the whole thing’ this season after a disappointing 2023-24 A-League campaign.

Adelaide United midfielder Zach Clough says the Reds are happy to again be “written off” as title contenders as they patiently wait for the start of their 2024-25 A-League campaign.

While the other 12 clubs open their A-League season this weekend, Adelaide must wait another week after being lumped with a first-round bye in a competition that has expanded to 13 teams with the addition of Auckland FC.

“It’s something I haven’t experienced before,” Englishman Clough said.

“It’s going to feel strange watching while the other teams start playing.

“We’ll be a bit behind at the start, but we’ll catch up eventually.

The Reds’ first game of the season is on Saturday week against Central Coast Mariners at Coopers Stadium,

“I can’t wait to get going. We’ve worked hard for four months now in pre-season. Every single day, we’ve been focused on getting better, improving on last year, and getting back to where we were previously ... fighting to win the whole thing,” Clough said.

Finishing off our preseason with a 💥 pic.twitter.com/zv2PyvDLcc

— Adelaide United (@AdelaideUnited) October 13, 2024

Finals football eluded Adelaide last season after three successive years of falling only a week short of a grand final berth.

“People have always written us off. The season before last, we were fighting for the top spot until three games to go,” Clough said.

“We can get back to that, and even improve on it. If we ignore the outside noise, we’ll be fine. We’ll keep working hard and stay united as a group.”

The Reds will this season be without former prodigy Nestory Irankunda, Japanese striker Hiroshi Ibusuki and experienced winger Ben Halloran.

“With players leaving, for sure, we’ll be changing and playing a different style,” Clough said.

“I don’t want to give too much away, but yeah, we’ll change a little, be definitely better defensively and aiming for more clean sheets.’

The Reds off-season recruits include experienced Dutch centre-back Bart Vriends, former Melbourne Victory attacker Ben Folami and ex-Western Sydney Wanderers winger Dylan Pierias, while defender Jordan Elsey has returned to the club.

“As a team we can get together and do really well,” Clough said.

“There’s a real sense of togetherness and a true team spirit.”

Originally published as Adelaide United to ‘ignore outside noise’ in bid to contend for A-League title