Tara Murray
Altona East Phoenix coach Paul Donnelly is excited to build on what he did in the second part of the FV state league 2 north-west season.
Donnelly took over as a caretaker job through this year and has now been appointed coach for next year’s season.
The club said Donnelly played a pivotal role as an interim coach, contributing significantly to the team’s second half of the season.
It said his understanding of the club’s history and future aspirations, coupled with his experience as both a former player and coach, is a valuable asset that supports the club’s goals.
For Donnelly, he said he was excited to take on the role full time at a club that means a lot to him.
“It’s a good club that I played a lot of years at,” he said. “I want to help them go up the leagues again.
“I got a call from the president last year and it was awesome. I love the club and it’d be good to get a bit of success for them.
“They’re working hard off the field and the juniors are doing well as is the women’s side. Hopefully we can get some success for the men’s side as well.”
Donnelly said having had half a season with the side was a big bonus coming into next year.
The Phoenix finished in fifth spot this year, nine points away from the promotion zone.
This side has been around the mix for the last three to four years without having success.
“We were able to work on what we needed,” he said. “We were able to set a good foundation to build on.
“About half way through last season we realised that we weren’t going to be in the top two so we started to let go of players that probably weren’t going to be there next season.
“We finished the season with a smaller list.”
Donnelly said they were in the middle of their recruiting period and were looking to add some quality players, along with more depth.
He said they had a good young side that they wanted to build on.
“We’ll have a massive pre-season and try to get off to a good start and be in a position to try and get promoted.
“The foundation is there, we just need more depth and quality. That is what we are working towards at the moment.”
Donnelly said they would start pre-season in early January and have a 12 week period before the season kicks off.
Joining Donnelly in the coaching team is Micky Douros. Douros has been an assistant coach the past two seasons.
