New Sutherland Sharks coach Grant Lee believes the club has the ability to be challenging at the top of the NPL.
Lee, a former Socceroos midfielder and club legend with Sydney Olympic, joined Sutherland last month after the Sharks parted ways with coach Carlos Villazon after a disappointing start to the season.
As well as an 18-year NSL career and a number of championships with Olympic and Sydney City, Lee has built a fine record of youth development through coaching stints at the Australian Institute of Sport, Parramatta Power, Sydney United and Sydney FC.
The 55-year-old spent the last five years back at the helm of Olympic before making the move south.
Sutherland had won two of their last three games before the visit of high-flying Blacktown City on Saturday night and Lee told the Leader he was excited about his new challenge in the shire.
“I’ve always known Sutherland as a very well run, well organised club which was obviously very attractive,” he said.
“They just seem to have been in a bit of a rut for the last couple of years. The quality of the squad isn’t that bad. For want of a better word I think they’d just developed a bit of that losing mentality.
“It becomes a habit. Even when you’ve played well you end up losing the game. It’s more psychological, to be honest. There are some decent kids here. I’m pretty happy that we don’t need to to look outside. We need to trust what’s there.”
There have been a few tactical tweaks along with the focus on the mental side of the game. And Lee, capped five times by Australia, is hoping his vast experience will rub off on his young squad quickly.
“We’re a work in progress in many ways,” he said.
“Good footballers know how to win games when they’re not playing well and they can grind out a result. We’re not quite there yet but that’s where we need to be.
“You hope to be able to bring [your experience] to the table. But it’s very hard, how do you impart your experience and knowledge on a young player quickly? It takes time. That’s the challenge, putting an older head on younger shoulders.”
Sutherland are still entrenched in the bottom three and a long way from the top five at the halfway stage of the season. But that hasn’t stopped Lee from dreaming big.
“I want us to go as far as we can,” he said.
“Realistically from where we started when I arrived the top five is going to be difficult but we just need to take it game by game. The short-term success of the club first is to not be in a relegation dog fight and be secure. Obviously that’s the immediate goal.
“Once we’re nice and safe anything else that comes from that is a bonus. Personally I think we’ve got the talent to go on a bit of a run. I’d love for us to go and make the top five. But whatever happens we’ll continue to build on it.”
