Maidstone United will strut its stuff in the Football Federation Victoria men’s state leagues for the first time in the coming season.
The man leading the charge for United is new coach Trevor Campbell, who has a proven track record after leading Upfield to promotion.
Campbell wants to set United on the path to sustainable, long-term success.
“When you go into a job, you’re not just going to go in there to stay in that league, you want to climb out of that league,” Campbell said.
“You have to start from the bottom and work your way up to the top.
“When I say the top, I’m talking about the big leagues – in another 10 years they might be in division one, which would be a great achievement.”
Campbell knows his new club is not blessed with big dollar recruits, but instead with players who are there for the love of the game.
But he can already see the potential that exists at United – potential that shone through during an FFA Cup campaign that included a stirring win over Bundoora United in the qualifying round.
Of course, a first season up in the state leagues is not going to be easy for United, but the step up might not be as big as initially thought.
“The way I look at it, it’s just a matter of getting these guys to start believing in themselves,” Campbell said. “They’ve got to have the belief and trust in their teammates.”
In these early days, Campbell will focus on reinforcing the basics to his squad.
With assistant coach John Hall, he will roll out an easily understandable gameplan and build from there.
One concern for Campbell is the general fitness of the Maidstone United players.
They have just over a month until the start of the season proper and there is plenty of work to be done to get up to match fitness.
“Some of these guys are so young and they’re not that fit,” the coach said.
“I’m not a believer of just running the boys – I’d rather ball work and run, where they don’t think about how much running they’re doing because they’ve got the ball in front of them.
“I don’t know if it’s reverse psychology, but they’re puffing and that’s good – they’re enjoying it and putting in.”
Since arriving from Ireland more than 40 years ago, Campbell has enjoyed a long association with FFV.
The 62-year-old only officially hanged up the boots at the age of 46 – though that was after making a comeback.
“I played some good soccer out here in my day,” Campbell said. “I’ve met some wonderful players over the years and that’s why you keep coming back.”
It’s his passion for the game and courage to work through adversity that Campbell will be seeking to impart on his young squad.
