Despite struggles, Alosi sees foundations being laid at United

Following the news they will move into their new training base, Western United ALM coach John Alosi thinks that a foundation for future success is being built for his side despite their horror season.

Rock bottom of the A-League Men, Western United’s 2023-24 season has not gone to plan. Nowhere close to it. Coach John Aloisi, though, believes foundations are being placed for the future beyond this week’s announcement that the club is officially moving into their new training base 

United fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wellington last weekend, the latest dispiriting chapter in a torrid season that marked their league-leading eleventh loss on the campaign and the extension of a winless run that stretches back to December 15.

Eight points behind 11th-placed Glory and 15 beyond the top six, United’s hopes of playing finals football look to have largely evaporated even with a game in hand on most of the league and twelve games remaining on their season.  

But Aloisi still sees plenty to be taken from the coming months.

“We just want to win every game that we play in,” he said. “If you've watched our games, you've seen that we haven't given up in any game, we're fighting for everything. 

“We want to improve our players as a group and as individuals. We've got a lot of young players so they'll be better for this experience. It's been tough, we won't hide away from that and we know that we need to be better in certain aspects of the game.

“It reminds me a little bit of when Staj [Alen Stajcic] was at the Mariners, he wasn't getting the results early on, but he was building something and you could sense that and you could sense he was building a culture and a foundation that they'd been missing for a few years. 

“I sense that now with this group and club, what we're going through. It's easy to start pointing fingers and blaming others and whatever else but the group's stuck together. And so this will hold us in good stead in the future

“We built the house from the roof down, but you have to have the foundation first. We won a championship, yes, but there's still a lot of work to do in the background to build a club that can be sustainable, and I think we're doing that.”

Aloisi remains under contract for next season and has been consistently backed by club powerbrokers and, for his part, he reiterated that he was planning to be in Tarneit next season when pressed on his future on Thursday. 

When the focus turned to his players – playing for contracts next season one of the great cliches of clubs in United’s position, especially without the threat of relegation adding jeopardy – the coach said that everyone was always under a microscope. 

“Players, whether they're under contract or not under contract, they should always be playing to make sure that they're at their best,” he said.

“Whether they're under contract, maybe something bigger and better might come along. Or they just want to improve as a player. 

“If they're not under contract, they should be wanting to play at their best. 

“But that's not only in games as in training, because that's how you end up performing on a regular basis.”

Despite their men’s side’s ongoing travails, United did receive a significant boost this week with the announcement that they’ve received the green light to move into their new training facility in Tarneit, with Kat Smith’s A-League Women outfit to play the first competitive fixture at the venue against the Jets on March 17.

Aloisi is hoping that the club will begin to stage some sessions at the facility in March before eventually playing their first A-League Men fixtures there in April. United currently has three home games listed as TBC  in that month, against Macarthur, Central Coast, and the last game of the regular season when Adelaide comes to town. 

“We're hoping that we're going to play at least three to four of our remaining home games there,” said Aloisi. 

“It's huge for us. We've had to go to different places, Ballarat, Tasmania, and wherever else in these five years. We've only played three games in Melbourne so far this season out of 15. 

“So to finally not have to get your bags and go on an aeroplane and play a home game, to have your home [is significant]. 

“Then you're trying to build the club, the people we represent, and that's out west, get the community on board. There's still a lot of work to do with that, we know that, but once we're there, it's much easier, and the players are excited because it's our home. “

Before picking out a new wallpaper for their training base, however, United will first need to worry about the Newcastle Jets on Friday evening at AAMI Park. 

Rob Stanton’s young side sits tenth on the table coming into the fixture, albeit with more than double the points tally of United, after back-to-back draws against Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers.

The Jets have only won two of their last 14 games away from home – one of those victories coming against United in Ballarat – but will bring one of the most in-form players in the competition with them to AAMI Park in the form of Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, who has five goals in his last four games, as well as an assist. 

Experiencing a breakout campaign after returning to the Jets from Greek Super League club PAS Giannina on a two-year deal during the offseason, the striker has 13 goals thus far in 2023-24, sharing the lead of the Golden Boot race with Bruno Fornaroli. 

With ten games of the season remaining, the 24-year-old only needs to find the back of the net four more times to set a new single-season mark for the Novocastraian club, seeking to surpass the 16 goals Adam Taggart scored during the 2013/14 season. 

“It's not only stopping him, it's stopping the supply to him because he's obviously in good form; the ball comes into the box and he's alive to it,” said Aloisi. 

“And he feels confident and that's what confidence gives you.”