SYDNEY, February 28 (A-League) - Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick has been named the A-League's Coach of the Year after steering the club to the league title.

Merrick's team thumped Adelaide United 6-0 in the A-League Grand Final earlier in the month to complete a fine season that has also seen them qualify for the 2008 AFC Champions League.

"I am accepting the award on behalf of the club, the supporters and especially the people I work very closely with," said Merrick at the awards ceremony in Sydney on Tuesday evening.

"There are other coaches, there are strength and conditioning coaches, sports scientists and our operations' manager, so I am accepting the award on behalf of those people.

"I feel it is pressure applied to myself that forces you to do the extra yards, the recruiting, the pre-season, plan meticulously, think ahead, that sort of stuff.

"Unfortunately, my wife will tell you that I spend too many hours and too many days, but that is what the pressure will do to make you get to the top."

Victory's dominance of the league was reflected in the awards, with Danny Allsopp claiming the Golden Boot after finising as the league's leading scorer and defender Adrian Leijer named the league's rising star.

Newcastle Jets' midfielder Nick Carle won the Johnny Warren Medal, given to the league's player of the year, after leading his club's resurgence in the second half of the season. Carle amassed 30 points more than second placed Allsopp.