Money can’t buy you everything – at least that’s what the Central Coast Mariners are telling themselves.
But as the Mariners embrace their reputation as the A-League’s cut-price underdogs, Perth coach Kenny Lowe subscribes to a vastly different theory.
“Quality – it’s all about players,” Lowe told reporters as the Glory left Perth ahead of Saturday’s season opener at Central Coast Stadium.
“If you want to be a great coach, get great players.
“That’s probably one of the best things I’ve been told.
“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to pick our side – it’s an easy job, isn’t it?”
Unlike the Mariners, who have had to rely on young players and rough diamond imports from unheralded leagues, Lowe appears to have buckets of quality at his disposal at the Glory.
Even accounting for the fallout of their salary cap scandal, Perth have recruited well and might have perhaps scored the coup of the A-League off-season in marquee winger Diego Castro.
The 33-year-old has played the past seven consecutive seasons in La Liga and could have easily stayed playing at the top tier in his native Spain if he wanted to, but opted for an Australian sea change instead.
Castro looms as a key man in the final third for the Glory this year along with Dutch striker Guyon Fernandez, a former stalwart of the Eredivise.
But despite their impressive pedigrees, Mariners coach Tony Walmsley has warned Perth’s big-name recruits that they won’t have it their own way in Gosford.
“Castro or whoever the opposition bring in, however much money they’ve spent – bring it on,” he said.
“He’s a player that’s going to be dangerous but, if he comes up against a Mickey Neill or a (Jacob) Poscoliero, they’ve got great athleticism.
“It doesn’t matter where they’ve played or where they come from, they’re going to be in for a very tough challenge.
“We want to play an attacking brand of football but we’ve got a one v one defensive philosophy as well that requires our players to be bold. We’ve got some real good attributes in our choices across the backline.
“We can’t wait to have a crack at them.”
STATS THAT MATTER:
* Central Coast have lost only one of their previous 16 A-League games at home against Perth (W12 D3 L1)
* Perth have scored just eight goals in road trips to the Mariners and never more than once in a game
* The Glory had the lowest average possession figure in the A-League last season (44.8%)
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