Perth Glory Football Club is excited to announce, Head Coach Kenny Lowe has signed on for a further two years, meaning the 54-year old will stay at the helm of the club until at least the end of the 2018/19 campaign.
The extended tenure caps off a positive season for the Hyundai A-League Coach of the Year nominee, which resulted in a second consecutive Westfield FFA Cup Final and an elimination finals berth.
Lowe was first appointed as Head Coach at the start of the Hyundai A-League 2014/15 season and will become the longest serving coach in club history, surpassing Mich d’Avray who steered the team from 2001-2004 during the NSL era.
Lowe said his focus from here on, was to continue the improvement and growth of the team and the football department on and off the park.
“I am humbled, honoured and excited that Tony (Sage) and Peter (Filopoulos) have shown trust and faith in me to be here for two more seasons after the current campaign” he said.
“I am looking forward to the challenge of developing a long-term strategy of continued growth throughout the club from grassroots all the way up to the first team.”
Lowe said going forward, his plan was simple, but crucial.
“I have always said from day one, that if we can look back and say we helped Glory become a club that people throughout Australia respected and a club that any player in the country would love to come and play for and that fans were proud of, we will have created a successful and vibrant club.”
CEO Peter Filopoulos said Lowe’s extension was important in building a solid platform to achieve the targets set out in the four year plan: “The Perth Glory Way”.
“Kenny’s record at Perth Glory speaks for itself with an impressive W-D-L ratio during his tenure after taking over the reins in 2013/14 as interim coach and then officially from 2014/15″ Filopoulos said.
”He has played a pivotal role in developing talent in Western Australia through his previous roles with Football West and the NTC (National Training Centre), many of whom we see today playing for Perth Glory Football Club and several clubs across the Hyundai A-League and abroad” he added.
“Kenny can take pride in the fact that during the upcoming season, 13 players in the senior squad are home grown and most of whom he has coached or mentored along the way.
“With a clear strategy in place for the Club, it was critical we extended Kenny’s contract to provide the environment and opportunity to drive our strategic objectives between now and 2020.”
Lowe returned to Perth at the weekend after a successful pre-season scouting tour in the UK and Spain, where he helped recapture the signature of marquee man Diego Castro.
Meantime the club is excited to announce that within only two weeks of the renewal period, almost 2000 members have signed on for the Hyundai A-League 16/17 season, paving the way for the Glory to achieve its record target of 8500 members.
#GloryIsOurs