It’s the dawn of a new era at Keilor Park, with the soccer club venturing into the Victorian Premier League for the first time and under a fresh coach.
Last season the Eagles finished second in FV state league 1 north-west earning themselves promotion into the VPL. Now with experienced women’s coach Liam Drury at the helm, he said he is excited to see where the club can continue to grow.
“I’m pumped to be at Keilor Park, it is an ambitious club with a special feeling to it because of the people here,” he said.
“It is a very good fit. I was not looking to leave my previous role but when such an opportunity at a club which has a heavy focus on the women’s program came up, I had to take it.
“The club have put their trust in me to build on the good work which has been done here and I hope to prove them right for doing so.”
While the leap from state league to VPL is no mean feat, Drury said from the small time he has spent with his group he is expecting big things from them in 2024.
He said they weren’t there to make up the numbers.
“We want to push as high as we can in this league. Unless we are top of the table we will be looking up to see who we can overtake rather than looking down and worried about being caught,” he said.
“I am always going to be ambitious and although I am sceptical about setting an exact target with so much of pre-season to go, I know we will go into every match with the goal of winning it, not getting by with a draw.”
To help the Eagles on their voyage into the higher level, they have managed to retain a core group of this season’s players, something that Drury said he is very pleased with.
“While there is a fair amount of turnover, I knew from early on that I wanted to keep the players who I believe can make the step up to VPL,” he said.
“In terms of new signings, we have had the opportunity to bring in a number of players with NPL (National Premier League) experience and some talented visa players. I have already coached a number of these players so I knew they would be good culture fits and bring lots of quality.”
Drury has spent his recent seasons coaching at both the VPL and National Premier League level, and said being the the Eagles inaugural VPL coach will allow him to pass on his learnings onto the squad.
“In the last few years I have been lucky to learn from top coaches and get an understanding of what’s required to succeed at these higher levels,” he said.
“I do feel that experience, as well as the experience of my coaching team and the players who have competed at these levels, will be helpful for a program which is at its highest division so far.”
