Perth Glory marquee signing Mile Sterjovski said the opportunity to play regular football and to link up once again with Coach Dave Mitchell was too good to pass up.
Perth Glory marquee signing Mile Sterjovski said the opportunity to play regular football and to link up once again with Coach Dave Mitchell was too good to pass up.
Speaking after his first training session with the Glory on Monday, the former Derby County and current Qantas Socceroos’ midfielder/striker said Mitchell’s presence was instrumental in his move to Members Equity Stadium for the upcoming Hyundai A-League season.
Mitchell had previously coached Sterjovski at Sydney United and Parramatta Power in the National Soccer League (NSL) and the striker believes the combination could again bring success.
“I’ve known Mitch for a long time and he was the one that gave me my breakthrough when I was young,” Sterjovski said.
“It was a factor in me signing here along with the fact that Jacob Burns has signed and also Andy Todd, players that I know and I respect.
“I think those factors played a big part in me signing here and I can see that the team is going to be strong and competitive.
“I’ve been keeping tabs on the league since it started and I know that Perth’s been under performing in the last few years but they’re a big club that deserves to be up the top – where they belong.”
Having played in the English Premiership during the 2007-08 season, Derby’s fall from grace was rapid, the club struggling to avoid demotion from the Coca Cola Championship last season.
With new manager Nigel Clough taking over for his first full campaign at the Rams’ helm, Sterjovski and team-mate Andy Todd were limited in their game time prompting Sterjovski-s move.
“I wasn’t playing regular football in Derby and when I found out there was interest in Australia, it really excited me,” he said.
“I left Derby on good terms. For me, the only problem was that I wasn’t playing regularly, I was coming off the bench and I would have liked to stay out a bit more.
“I want to have a good season here, a good three seasons, that’s how long I-m currently contracted for, and the priority is to make the finals. Perth haven’t done that in the first four seasons in the Hyundai A-League, so that’s the main goal for us.”
Despite playing as a midfielder at Derby and for the Qantas Socceroos, Mitchell looks set to use Sterjovski as a striker, slotting him in at the front to replace the departed Nikita Rukavytsya.
“I can play in a few different positions, I’m more than happy to play up front again, that would be a nice challenge and I always like scoring goals,” he said.
“I’ll leave it up to Mitch and wherever he needs me to play I’ll be more than happy too.”
