What is the mid to long-term strategy for the club in regards to youth development?
We’d like to get to a stage where we can build the Sydney FC academy. That’s a long-term goal but ultimately one that will be a nursery into the A-League. It’s still a fair way off and for us to do it properly we’ll have to put together a youth team and give them some competition and an education at Sydney FC before moving forward into an academy structure. We’ve certainly got plans to put together an academy as well as coaching clinics under the Sydney FC brand to identify some talent and then bring that talent through.

We’ve got an agreement with Liverpool Football Club for a young ‘keeper Dean Bouzanis who’s rated as the best ‘keeper of his age in the world. And we’re really excited to do that sort of stuff. That was a deal that was done through our football department. Who would have thought two or three years ago that we would have a player agreement with the likes of Liverpool Football Club. There are a few great young guys around. Adam Casey is another we’ve got. Tetalios? Has been with us in the pre-season and they’re good young kids. We’re starting to get that mix of experience with the young guys.

Day one of season three… how many players will be on the roster?
Day one for season three for us has already come. If we’ve lost that title being the benchmark in the A-League we need to re-claim it and we need to re-claim it fast. We’ll do that through some proper structures and getting everything in place so we leave nothing to chance. We hope to finalise a 20-man squad and that will be a competitive and strong squad. We’ve got a couple of places still to fill but we’ll have a full compliment of a 20-man squad for season three.

You’ve worked at the ARU and for SOCOG. How does Sydney FC compare?
One thing I’ve really enjoyed about it is that you really feel part of a club at Sydney FC. You have a real pride and an affinity with the players. That’s what I’ve really enjoyed about it. The one thing that has struck me is the passion for football and how strong it is. You can’t pigeonhole a passionate footballer. Our Chairman is the Director of the Art Gallery and is passionate about his football. You talk to people from all walks of life and they are mad keen for it. You look at our board, and they’re all huge football fans but from all walks of life.

Some fans say they are perplexed hearing about so-called issues in the club as it is still so young. How would you respond to that?
I think it’s fair to say that there are going to be issues they’re going to be early on because this is new to all of us. There will always be teething issues in a club, whether that is a football club, a company or a league. To say that other clubs haven’t had their share of teething issues I don’t think would be right but I think those issues have come and gone for us which is great by and large. As they say, ‘it’s better to make a decision and got it wrong than not to have made one at all’ and we’ve done that to a degree. That’s not to say that everything we have done has been wrong because you look at the success under the chairmanship of Walter who has established a fantastic brand in a very difficult market. Sydney FC wouldn’t be where it is today without Walter Bugno in the early stages.

When you came into the role you did a three-year business plan. How are you tracking so far in the first year?
So far so good. But it’s a three-year rolling business plan and we just have to continue to work at it. We’ve set ourselves some ambitious but achievable targets in terms of sponsorship, and gate revenue and keeping costs low but more importantly we’re just trying to change the way we do things rather than any major changes. We’re continuing to evolve the club. We’ve got a good portfolio for sponsors, we have a very strong membership base and we’ll continue to work on the crowds.