This upcoming season, we will see a completely new look Western Sydney Wanderers side. Will all the big changes lead to success on the park? 10 Football’s Samuel Greco Schwartz caught up with Wanderers coach Mark Rudan to find out what to expect…
SGS: Talk us through preseason, what has impressed you so far?
MR: The fact that the environment is so strong. The togetherness of everyone involved has been the most pleasing thing.
SGS: There have been plenty of players coming and going this pre-season. What can we expect from the new look team? How have you been able to get them to connect both on and off the pitch?
MR: We’ve done a lot of cultural work… In terms of expectations the group’s all brought into that and driven a lot of those meetings. We’ve had a lot of fun along the way getting to know each other. Expect a team that’s going to be extremely competitive this year and is going to work extremely hard.
SGS: You’re forming what looks like to be quite a formidable attacking force. How important was it to get Brandon Borrello in?
MR: We’ve made a lot of new signings and Borrello’s just one of many new players, particularly in that front line. They’re all working hard and there’s a lot of competition for places. As far as I’m concerned, I’m really happy with the output from all of them.
SGS: What do you think needs to change for the club to finally break their finals drought?
MR: I think the mentality is the most important thing as far as I’m concerned. There are two things that are important: personality and performance. The mentality has shifted a long way, so much so that the expectations of the group are extremely high and they all understand their responsibilities, We’re (the coaching staff) helping them as much as we can to help them reach their goals.
SGS: The club has copped quite a lot of criticism and is continually scrutinised. Do you think it’s fair?
MR: Personally, it doesn’t really bother me, people can say what they want. My job is to protect the playing group from that. It’s (Wanderers) a big club that’s for sure. They certainly haven’t performed as well as they should have over the last 5-6 years.
I think that any big club around the world, the demands and expectations are the same. What I will say is that the demands and expectations on Victory’s, City’s, Sydney FC’s and Wanderers’ players is so much higher than any other club in the competition, therefore there’s not as much pressure at those other clubs and that’s why certain players are able to perform differently.
You’ve seen that players that have represented this club over the last few years have played well at other clubs where the pressure probably isn’t as high. I guess that’s the biggest difference.
That’s one of the reasons why I’ve been able to bring in players who I believe can adjust to the expectations of this club and handle it quite well.
SGS: How crucial will those first six matches of the season be before the mini break? Considering that four of those will be home fixtures
MR: They’re all important. It’s a long season, you don’t win the league in December. Our job is to make sure that our mindset is right in every game.
SGS: What does success look like for Wanderers this year?
MR: At the end of the day, we all have expectations of ourselves. At the end of the season, we’ll see where we end up.
Finally, we are thinking that there is surely one fixture that may stand out to you. Wellington away, it may only be down at WIN Stadium but what kind of reception are you expecting from the Phoenix fans?
MR: I don’t really care (laughs). It doesn’t bother me!
See what all the other A-League Men's coaches have to say ahead of the 2022/23 season
