Altona City is hoping for a smoother Victorian Premier League 2 season than the pre-season it’s had so far.
Injuries have interrupted the preparation of the side under new coach Chris Greechan ahead of the season kicking off this weekend.
Greechan said they had their eye on the bigger picture.
“It’s been a busy period,” he said.
“It has been a bit of a disjointed pre-season with some key injuries to key signings.
“We’re already on the book foot with four or five of our starters sitting out the start of the season with freak of nature injuries.
“We’re going to have to rely on depth and we have a lot of good young players coming through.
“It’s a great opportunity for them and they might retain their spots. It’s not all doom and gloom.”
Having coached and played against Altona City, Greechan isn’t a complete stranger to the club.
He said the club had a good name in the community for many years.
Greechan said after a year out of coaching he was keen to get back into it.
“It’s a friendly atmosphere and one really good thing about the club is they have ambition,” he said.
“The board is really pushing to be successful and push into the next division.
“That’s been validated since our initial conversations.”
Altona City finished fourth last season and played finals.
Greechan said the fact that the side was in the mix last season was a big reason that he was attracted to the club.
While last season the group had some positive results, it will be a new look group this year.
“Only about half a dozen players from last season have returned,” he said.
“We would have looked to re-sign a few more, but they moved on for individual reasons.
“That’s the nature of the NPL [National Premier LeaguE]-VPL.”
Greechan said they had targeted players who would suit the style of game he wanted to play.
Among the signings is Tom Biss from Werribee City with Greechan saying he is one of the best players in the competition.
He said Jordan Lam was an excellent player at this level and Curtis Bateson was an attacking winger
Captain Andelo Svalina is returning in a big boost for Altona City and Rory Curran is another key signing.
Altona City kicked off its season against Moreland City on Saturday with a 2-2 draw.
Gresham said they had to be ready from the first game.
“We’ve tried to ramp it up from day dot,” he said.
“You want to win every game not much room for error no goi in win those games
“We’re excited for the season.”
