IT is a hard act to follow for newly appointed Green Gully Cavaliers coach Dean Hennessey.
Not only entrusted with keeping one of the most successful clubs in the upper reaches of the Victorian Premier League, the 47-year-old replaces Ian Dobson, one of the most successful coaches in the competition’s history with eight titles at two clubs.
Is there a person better equipped to walk in the footsteps of Dobson?
Hennessey is the son of the Welsh football great Terry Hennessey, a defender who was capped 39 times for Wales, racked up 400 appearances at great English clubs Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest and Derby County, and would go on to become coach of the Melbourne Knights in the old National Soccer League.
You could say he knows what it is like to walk in the footsteps of greatness.
At big clubs, there is always pressure to perform and a win-now mentality, and that is no different at Gully with the expectation to challenge for the title every season.
The Cavs have won two of the past three VPL titles and want an immediate return to the top after a preliminary final exit last season.
It is this pressure that attracted Hennessey to the club and one that is constantly reminded to him in dialogue with colleagues.
“That history has been pointed out by many people,” he said with a chuckle. “They know how to win and there’s a good culture down there.
“The club has an expectation to be competitive at the top and that won’t change.”
Hennessey took charge of his first preseason training session last week.
He was immediately taken aback by the enthusiasm of his players to train on a hot summer’s evening when their minds could have wandered to the sand and the surf of nearby beaches.
“The players were hungry and excited to go again,” he said.
Hennessey has enjoyed a long and successful career in the VPL, starting with 250 games as a player with Albion Rovers, Box Hill, Fawkner and Thomastown, and the past 15 years as a coach locally with the Essendon Royals, Richmond Eagles, Bentleigh Greens and, more recently, Southern Stars.
The Essendon resident is a big advocate of youth development and held down a development role with Derby County’s academy.
He wants to impart his knowledge on all aspects of the game not only to the first team, but also those ambitious youngsters coming through the ranks at Gully.
Hennessey’s big-picture mentality can be traced back to his days as a youth player at Notts County.
The senior manager at the time, Jimmy Sirrel, had the scrutiny of leading the first team, but never failed to make time for the young players at the club.
“I’ve got a background in youth development and they’ve got a great group of juniors at Gully,” he said.
“When I grew up, I was fortunate to play under Jimmy Sirrel, and he made a big impression on my life and I want to be similar to that with the young players at Gully.”
Green Gully general manager Raymond Mamo said Hennessey’s remarkable record of getting teams promoted to the top flight coupled with a flawless interview left the committee in no doubt they had found the right man.
“He is really enthusiastic and motivated to continue on with Green Gully’s success with the players at the club,” Mamo said.
“He’s a good communicator which is the most important and will get his message across.”
Paul Harris, one of Hennessey’s long-time friends and the man who pipped him for the VPL player of the year award by three votes back in 1986, will stay on as assistant coach.
Slobode Stojcevski will coach the U21s, Robert Brian is the goalkeepers coach and Stefan Rudzki is the fitness and conditioning coach.
