With Round 10 fixtures split over the course of April and May, Rounds 6-9 were counted in the reckoning for determining the Manager of the Month for the fourth month of the year. Huss Skenderovic can once again find himself unlucky to not have claimed the honour after guiding his side to another 100% record month, which saw them begin April with a narrow away triumph over St Albans and round it off with a hard-fought victory over promotion rivals Kingston.
Similarly, Moreland Zebras supremo Danny Gnjidic is another honourable mention after steering the Fawkner-based side to four wins from four in that period, including a 4-0 away thrashing of previous front-runners the Whittlesea Ranges.
However, given the award reverted to NPL2 last month, the four rounds aforementioned in the top tier saw George Katsakis claim four wins from four as Heidelberg United scored 18 times in those fixtures, with the likes of Harry Noon, Sean Ellis and Kenny Athiu stepping up in the absence of the injured pairing of Andreas Govas and Kaine Sheppard – who returned to full fitness by the conclusion of the month.
George Katsakis was a dejected man on February 21. The proud Heidelberg United manager had just seen his 10-man Bergers outfit mauled 6-0 at the hands of an uncompromising South Melbourne side. The loss was their worst against their traditional rivals, and a three point deduction hanging over their shoulder showed first-hand the tough task on hand in trying to get the former NSL power to the top of Victorian football.
“The aftermath was a realisation with the league itself. We had a very good start to year by having a strong pre-season and I’m not sure the boys understood the intensity of this league and how difficult it really is,” Katsakis said.
“In the end, a lot of people undermine the quality of this league and it’s definitely amongst the best in the country. So it was a bit of a wake-up call for many of them and we analysed and worked out our faults and since then we haven’t looked back.”
Fast forward two months later and Katsakis’ men were hot on the trail of their rival pace-setters and level with Bentleigh Greens.
While a recent away defeat to Hume has somewhat dampened spirits, there is strong belief amongst the playing squad that the Bergers are building something special.
A convincing 6-1 defeat of local rivals Northcote City was followed by a 4-1 trumping of the in-form Port Melbourne Sharks. A relentless come-from-behind 4-2 triumph over the Bulleen Lions was then succeeded by another a second successive 4-1 home win, this time over the struggling Richmond.
Towering forward Kenny Athiu has been in the form of his career in that period, scoring five times to lead the NPL Golden Boot standings.
Other players who have stood out have included Scottish forward Sean Ellis, Mancunian midfielder Harry Noon and the defensively solid Lewis Hall, with Katsakis noting that all those players have brought in something new on the pitch as well as off-the-field in the club rooms.
“They have been exceptional and all three have developed into really good players for us with all three adding a new dimension to our game,” Katsakis said.
“We’ve been able to change our formation and play to their strengths with the new signings bringing something different to the table.
“That can be seen from the amount of goals we’re scoring and in about five league games, have managed 20 goals, so it’s a considerable amount of firepower up front.
“They’ve also brought in good personalities and characters into the dressing room and they are entrenched in our club culture.”
The passionate Katsakis, who recently turned 50, also stressed the importance of carrying on the momentum the Bergers garnered following last season’s FFA Cup Quarter-Finals run which saw a crowd of over 11,000 pack into Olympic Village in early October to witness Heidelberg’s match against Melbourne City.
He cited local council support as playing a big part in the rise of the club, which has seen many people associated with United returned back to the terraces of the historic venue for the first time in many years.
“It was very important and it’s not only the Heidelberg members and fans of the club who have contributed. It’s been the whole area with the municipality behind us, as is evident with the government grants that the club has received at the moment,” he said.
“The council has helped with the preparation of the pitch and their grants toward the facility which has been absolutely massive. It has brought everyone together and galvanised the whole area and the club itself so it was very important for us to work on from the momentum of the FFA Cup and we’re going to have to try and achieve the same thing this year.”
The good form on the park, in addition to the strong backing off it, has renewed optimism in Heidelberg West that 2016 will see the Bergers claim league honours for the first time since 2001.
Katsakis, a long time servant of the club, first came into the managerial hotseat in 2007 before relinquishing it at the culmination of the 2011 VPL season, after overseeing four straight top six finishes.
He returned in mid-2012 as the Bergers lay dead last on the competition ladder, with a resurgence not eventuating as relegation to the second tier followed. Following the completion of that season, a five-year plan was put together to try and get the Bergers back to the top of the Victorian football scene with an immediate return to the top flight set as a priority for 2013.
“Since I’ve coached at the club we have rarely missed the finals apart from 2012 when I came in half-way through and tried to steer us away from relegation. Since then we have set ourselves the target to try and gain promotion straight away into the newly formed NPL which did eventuate,” he said.
“The plan was to by 2016 we would be a force after a couple of seasons of consolidation and I believe this year is the time for us to step up a gear and deliver to our supporters. We are looking to win some silverware and it’s showing at the moment that a lot of the decisions made back then are starting to transpire and develop.”
With the Hume defeat fresh in the minds of the players in yellow and black, attention has quickly turned to a crunch Sunday afternoon clash against the second-placed Bentleigh Greens before facing a tough visit to the Oakleigh Cannons as Katsakis go up against John Anastasiadis and Peter Tsolakis – two former teammates of his.
“We will analyse the loss to Hume in the next couple of sessions and keep doing what we have been doing since the South Melbourne defeat. We will work on our strengths and nullify all the flaws in our system and the reason why we are conceding goals and continue on to do what we have been doing for the last 10-12 weeks,” he said.
The Greens should be vary of a wounded Heidelberg, who put the Melbourne Knights away 6-1 in late February following on their opening round loss to South and with Katsakis at the helm of a physically strong outfit, there is a strong presumption that the Bergers could bounce back against their formidable opponents and return to their best form of April.
Image: Con Deves