Perth Glory recruits Danny Vukovic and Evan Berger are both confident they can help inspire a revival at the club next season.
Perth Glory recruits Danny Vukovic and Evan Berger are both confident they can help inspire a revival at the club next season.
In Perth for a few days, before pre-season training officially commences in May, the pair say they are excited by the challenge.
“I actually signed here when I was sitting on the bench at Wellington,” said Vukovic.
“It was an opportunity to play first-team football. It was a three-year deal, so a bit of security there and coming back to Australia.”
“It was a bit up and down there (last season), has been for the last couple of years with me.”
“But I’ve got the security now … just can’t wait to get started.”
Vukovic was coach Ian Ferguson’s first signing but the star goal keeper says he wasn-t fazed by the club-s disappointing season.
“You don’t know what’s true and what’s not when you read the media,” Vukovic said.
“I don’t really tend to read a lot into it, so I sort of take things on face value and wanted to make that opinion up myself.”
Like Vukovic, the Glory was an opportunity for regular first-team football for former Victory defender Berger, who was part of Melbourne’s championship-winning side in the 1-0 Grand Final win over Adelaide United in 2008-09.
Since then, a series of muscle injuries led to him being sidelined as other players superseded the diminutive Berger for the left-back role.
“It is a little bit frustrating,” Berger said.
“I just felt that I could offer their team (Melbourne) a lot but in the end it didn’t work out like that.”
“As a footballer, you want to be playing regularly. At Melbourne I didn’t quite achieve that, but I’ve got a brilliant opportunity here at Perth and thank Fergie (Ferguson) for showing a bit of faith in me and hopefully I can repay that faith.”
And the pair both hope Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler pens a new deal with the club over the next few weeks.
“To play with someone like that would be just a dream come true,” he said.
“At the end of my career I’d love to say that I played with someone like Robbie Fowler.”
