Springvale White Eagles coach Zlatko Mihajlovic is looking for a competitive season from his young squad, hoping the club’s participation in NPL 1 will encourage his players to take it to the top teams in the competition.
It’s a long road back to the top for the former VPL club, having suffered consecutive relegations from Victoria’s top division.
They bounced straight back from the disappointing slump and won the Victorian State League 2 South East last season on the first attempt, while they also successfully applied for their NPL1 licence to be a part of the new dawn in Victorian football.
Mihajlovic would have momentarily liked what he saw in his side’s first round encounter on Sunday against St. Albans, taking an early 1-0 lead against the title contenders, before eventually going down 5-3 in a high scoring affair.
While the coach was left to rue defensive errors, he said his focus this season was ultimately about player development and improvement.
“For the season ahead, you’ve got an opportunity to play against the better teams in the competition,” Mihajlovic said.
“We’re looking to be competitive and just have a good season on that front and see what kind of young players we can bring through.”
However, he was frustrated by NPL regulations that stipulate any NPL U20 player may only play five senior games before effectively being counted as a senior player in the player points cap.
“There’s a few things that I’m not sure about now,” Mihajlovic said.
“We’ve got young players and they’ve played 5 games in the 20’s, and you can’t call them up in the seniors anymore [without adding to the points cap].”
He was also unimpressed with the rushed implementation of the NPL in Victoria, saying his team has lost vital time in pre-season to prepare for the challenge ahead.
“The fact that this was all put together rush, rush, to bring forward the season three weeks earlier, it takes a dint in your program.
“It’s not an excuse, but your season is not where it should be.”
Springvale travels to Richmond next Friday for its Round Two encounter, where they’ll be hoping to pick up their first points of the season.