By AAP
October 19th 2009 @ 6:35am
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Frustration already getting better of new Roar coach
Frustration has already got the better of new Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou – and he is still days ahead of his first official game at the helm.
The ex-Young Socceroos mentor left the Brisbane reins with caretaker coach Rado Vidosic for Saturday night’s Mariners clash so he could take stock of the Roar from the Suncorp Stadium grandstand.
He would have been forgiven for wondering what he had gotten himself into.
Postecoglou at times shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he watched flimsy Roar defence leak two goals in the opening 20 minutes before Pedj Bojic pounced on an errant Brisbane pass and delivered the 70th minute sealer.
Temptation got the better of Postecoglou at halftime and he addressed the players who were clearly still reeling from coach Frank Farina’s mid-week sacking.
“That was just me, I was just overly frustrated with the whole thing – I am not a good spectator at the best of times,” Postecoglou said on Sunday.
“Although officially I wasn’t in charge I still felt a part of it and wanted to contribute.
“I just had a quiet word to try and steer them in the right direction.
“But the reality is there was little impact I could have made – I was just releasing frustration.”
Plenty more frustration may lie ahead for Postecoglou.
It was going to be tough enough to get his team to refocus after the ill feeling reportedly created by the Roar board’s decision to sack Farina for drink driving.
Farina’s departure will reportedly be followed by the club’s high performance director Tony Ganter as early as next month.
Postecoglou will dive head first into the daunting challenge, hosting one-on-one interviews with players on Monday.
And his on-field task won’t be made any easier with skipper Craig Moore suspended and fellow key veterans Danny Tiatto (hamstring) and Bob Malcolm (broken nose) in doubt for Postecoglou’s first official game at the helm – a daunting away trip against Sydney FC.
But Postecoglou was upbeat about the task ahead.
“The owners want to be here for the long term and they understand that changes need to occur,” he said.
“There’s no hiding from the fact that we have struggled on and off the pitch this year, it’s part of my brief to get it right on the pitch.
“It’s up to us to get them (fans) back to the game and start connecting with the community.
“But I am only getting enthusiasm and positive reinforcement from the board to go ahead and institute changes I want to make.”
Moore collected his fifth yellow card of the season for a second half challenge, earning an automatic one game ban.
While Farina’s axing appears to have created player tension, Moore publicly backed Postecoglou.
“That’s football. There’s always changes, now we have a new change, a new coach,” he said.
“It’s a period where people have to prove themselves again which is no bad thing – and as you can see there is still quite a lot of work to do.”
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