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Coach Tony Popovic is committed to taking Western Sydney back to the summit and is being handed a blank cheque to find a big-name marquee who can help get them there.
Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer on Friday announced Popovic had re-signed with the club until the end of the 2017-18 season.
The move was a show of faith in Popovic, who after leading the Wanderers to the Premier’s Plate in their debut season, successive A-League grand finals and an Asian Champions League title, guided them to dismal lows this season.
They finished second-last in the A-League with just four wins from 27 games and then bowed out in the group stage of their ACL title defence on Tuesday.
Lederer admitted the results displeased him but said he never doubted Popovic.
“Absolutely it bothered me,” he said on Friday.
“But I never wavered in my belief in Tony.
“I believe we’ve got the best coach in the country.”
Despite a year remaining on his deal the Wanderers made an early move to secure the services of Popovic, who was last year named Asian Football Confederation coach of the year.
Popovic quashed speculation he fielded solid offers from Croatian giants Hajduk Split and clubs in China, Korea and England.
He says he has aspirations to coach a big club abroad one day but still has much more he wants to achieve at the Wanderers.
“It wasn’t just about the senior team it was about the vision and plans for the club as a whole and that includes an academy the youth team all the way down, the new training facilities, staff, recruitment – a while range of issues.
“We all have a vision to make the club the best and that’s something that really drives me.
“We’ve had a lot of success at the club and we want more.
“Am I ambitious to coach at the highest level in a top club in Europe or Asia? Of course. I want to be the best.
“But at the moment I see part of my development and improvement at this club.”
While Popovic’s future is secure at the club a host of players are set to exit.
The likes of Tomi Juric and Kerem Bulut are expected to sign elsewhere with the futures of Ante Covic, Mateo Poljak, Nikita Rukavytsya, Brendan Hamill, Iacopo La Rocca and Anthony Golec among those still up in the air.
Popovic said he was having individual meetings with his charges and “next week all the players will know where they stand.”
But the coach is also on the lookout for a marquee signing and Lederer says money would be no object.
“Absolutely, there’s no question but it’s got to be the right marquee,” Lederer said.
“We’re not worried about that part (financial) but more about the player giving us the added value we’re looking for.
“We’re looking all the time.”
Popovic admitted being knocked out of the ACL may have been a blessing in disguise with the benefit of a full, uninterrupted pre-season to rebuild his squad.
“It does give us an opportunity now to plan ahead,” he said.
“We know we’ll have one game week next season and it gives us a good chance to build the team up to the level that we can challenge for honours.”
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