Werribee City FC coach Nino Ragusa was philosophical in the face of his side’s opening 4-0 drubbing away to Green Gully in its first ever NPL match.
Ragusa, both the club’s coach and technical director, was both frustrated with the result but also level-headed and ambitious about pushing the Bees to improve on their first NPL outing.
“At the moment, maybe we look like a punching bag,” Ragusa said.
“It’s a 90 minute contest. We only brought 35 minutes of genuine contest to the game.
“I’m always disappointed after I lose.
“We’re going to keep pushing to improve ourselves week in, week out. If we did 35 minutes, then next week I’m looking at 40, 50, maybe even 60 minutes [of genuine contest]. That’s the next step.
“That’s the reality. In a way I’m glad they had a bit of a lesson. It’s a reality check for them.”
For Ragusa, the wide gulf in experience between the two sides was a catalyst for Werribee’s collapse during the match.
“Gully’s average age is ten years older than ours. They’ve got massive experience. So once they sniff it, they come after you. Our young boys can’t cope with it,” he observed.
“We know our boys are very inexperienced. We don’t have the financial muscle. Green Gully have threefold more than us.
“We’ve lost Leigh Minopoulos [and it will be] hard to replace him, but again, we don’t have the funds.”
Despite its newcomer status in Victoria’s premier football competition, Werribee City is a club with a mission and an unwavering faith in the potential of its young players.
Ragusa is realistic about the scope of the task confronting him, but clear that the club is squarely focused on its long-term objectives of developing youth and nurturing local talent.
“Youth – that’s the way we’ll continue to go,” he asserted.
“We always knew the NPL was a three-year license. The aim was always to bring a young team in and nurse them through. In their third year, they’ll be a force in the NPL.
“We’d like to finish outside the bottom four.
“This year it will be very, very difficult, but we’re going to push forward with our club policy.”
Follow Steven Chang on Twitter at @Gixibyte.