When Ben Smyth moved to Melbourne City as a player, he was thrust into an unfamiliar defensive position.
Smyth was a striker with his former club, Deakin, but that all changed once he walked through the doors at the South Kingsville-based City.
“They saw a tall bloke and stuck me at the back,” Smyth said with a chuckle.
“Anybody with a bit of height tends to end up playing in the back four.”
Spending time in defence proved a blessing in disguise for Smyth, who has just been appointed coach at Melbourne City.
His outlook on the game might have been more skewed if he’d spent his whole career on the front line.
“It gives you a more well-rounded view of the game,” Smyth said. “You can see the whole pitch rather than the snapshot of where you played in your career. It certainly helped me.”
Smyth is a young coach at 33, but he was the best candidate for City.
The Newport resident had served a long apprenticeship under former coach Leo Malik, and worked as City’s reserves’ coach in recent seasons.
He stamped his credentials when he obtained his C-licence coaching certificate.
Smyth was thrilled when Melbourne City handed him the keys to the senior coaching gig.
“It’s my first senior appointment, so it’s very exciting to get in there and get started,” he said. “I’ve worked fairly hard over the past four years as the reserves’ coach.
“You get the respect of people around the club, and it’s got me to where I am now.”
Smyth has enormous boots to fill at Melbourne City. He steps up after the hugely successful reign of Malik, who took City to a title and two promotions.
Malik was one of Smyth’s coaching mentors.
“I learned a hell of a lot off him … taken a lot on board there,” Smyth said.
While Smyth watched Malik closely in recent seasons, there are some things that he wants to do differently.
“When you go in as coach, you obviously have your own values, and some things you might change,” Smyth said. “There’s obviously going to be tactical and disciplinary elements that we’ll look to build on.”
What Smyth will not change is the atmosphere at Melbourne City.
From the moment he walked into the club, he has always been made to feel welcome.
“It’s a good club to be involved in,” he said. “A very tight-knit club with fantastic social culture to it.
“The talent the club has available to it is fantastic too,” Smyth said.
“We want to try and continue to nurture that over the next couple of years.”
