Tara Murray
Things are starting to come together for a new-look Melbourne Knights ahead of the National Premier League season.
Under new coach Ben Cahn, there have been a number of changes to the playing group as the side looks to rise up the ladder.
Cahn said it had been a busy time getting ready for round one which is quickly approaching.
“There’s been lots of changes,” he said.
“We’ve been trying to make changes and implement them, but there seems like there is never enough time.”
Cahn said he had looked to recruit players that would fit his style of coaching and work well with his game plan.
He’s looked not only locally, but internationally to fill out his squad.
The first two signings and the two biggest were Ivan and Joseph Franjic. Both have previously played at the club, with Ivan playing 20 games for the Socceroos since his last played with the Knights.
“Both are very good players,” Cahn said. “They are experienced players in their own right and they know the club and know the community.
“They know what it is like to play and to win for the Melbourne Knights. It’s more than what they bring to the pitch.”
Cahn said there were plenty of other players that fans would be excited to watch. The Knights have at least eight new players this season.
“Steve Whyte has been my captain for a long time,” he said. “I also coached him at the Mariners youth team.
“He’s had lots of opportunities to come down to Melbourne in recent years. He’s keen to prove a point.
“Josh Phelps has been playing professionally in the US for the last six or seven years. He’s a really good pick up for us.
“Mitch Hore and Corey Sewell are coming from Bentleigh Greens and have done well in this league and it’s really important to the way that we play.”
The Knights have played several practice matches in the pre-season so far, with some more to come and a trip to Canberra also scheduled in.
For Cahn, it’s been so far, so good.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” he said. “I’ve been really happy and we’ve been growing from what I’ve seen in the pre-season.
“There’s been some good steps, but we still have a lot of work to do. We’ll continue to evolve throughout the season.”
The Knights kick off their season on February 19 against St Albans.
Cahn said they had done enough work in the lead up to the season to be ready for when the first whistle goes.
“We have a difficult start with matches against last year’s finalists in six and seven games,” he said.
“There’s no pressure on winning x amount of games as a starting point. We think we’ll be there at the end of the season.”
