Cheesman
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Lazaridis begins Glory campaign | Quote: | STAR Perth Glory recruit Stan Lazaridis trained with his new teammates for the first time today as off-field matters continued to overshadow the club's preparations for the second A-League season.
Since signing with the Glory this month, Lazaridis has taken a short break from the game after his World Cup commitments.
Football Federation Australia – Glory's current owner – believed attracting the veteran Socceroo would help pave a smoother lead-in to the new season, but off-field issues have lingered.
Along with the protracted search for a new head coach and chief executive officer, the WA outfit has had to iron out some ripples concerning team captain Jamie Harnwell.
Recent news reports claimed some players had lost faith in their skipper, but Harnwell met with the players today and said everything had been sorted out.
"I don't know (where these rumblings have come from). Things get dragged up from anywhere, so, you know we've had a bit of a chat and things have been straightened out," the skipper said.
"We've just got to stick together. When we were successful there was a great team spirit, things stayed in the dressing room – we had blues in there and no one found out about them – (so) that's the sort of thing we've got to get happening again."
If the new permanent coach wanted to change the captaincy, Harnwell said he would step aside without any complaints.
Interim Glory coach Alan Vest – who has looked after the side on his own during the past few months – was still undecided whether he would stay on at the club if someone else was unveiled as the new coach.
"It would depend on whether I respected and thought that somebody was better than me," Vest said.
"I'm not saying I deserve it. I think that's for other people to determine and I've said that right from the start to the FFA. They're paying the wages and it's their prerogative to have who they want."
Meanwhile, Lazaridis – who earlier backed Harnwell as captain – was excited about the season ahead.
"I'm kind of looking forward to the challenge of this season," he said.
Playing in England for a decade has enhanced Lazaridis' ability to thrive under pressure and expectation and there will be a lot of that in Perth when he takes the field.
"It's a lot of pressure but I'm not fazed, I'll just take it on," Lazaridis said.
"I think I know what the people want here, so, at the end of the day, if you're giving 100 per cent and your teammates can see that and you're helping each other, that'll be enough." |
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