Pignata commenced his new role at Glory earlier this month, replacing Peter Filopoulos who moved to Football Federation Victoria.

Pignata left Sydney in 2017, spending his time off studying to gain his certificate in Sports Law and working in the media with Football Nation but is now ready to get his teeth into a new football administration role.

Perth have undergone change this off-season, representing a clean slate with Tony Popovic also taking over as coach following Kenny Lowe’s demotion.

The Western Australians have already signed Tomislav Mrcela and Ivan Franjic this off-season and are close to adding Matt Spiranovic.

Marquee Diego Castro was also re-signed but Pignata, who had great off-field success with Del Piero’s recruitment at Sydney, said they wouldn’t be chasing a big name despite mining magnate owner Tony Sage’s financial ability.

“I get asked this question a lot about marquees,” Pignata told FourFourTwo.

“In today’s market, the way dollars are getting spent in the MLS and even the J.League and China nowadays it’s very hard to get a player like we did with Alessandro.

“Even though there’s a marquee fund available through the FFA with their television rights, these huge marquees are commanding big big dollars in those markets, so it’s very difficult for an A-League club to secure their services.”

 
Pignata said Glory wouldn’t undergo any drastic squad changes this off-season.

“Tony (Popovic) is really looking at the whole squad,” Pignata said.

“We’ve re-signed Brandon Wilson as well, plus Castro, Franjic, a few more signings hopefully coming up.

“Together with the current squad, it’s well balanced. Not too much tinkering.

“It’s about bringing in a couple of players that Tony wants to bring in. We’ll have a very competitive team.”

Pignata said his mission at Perth was to bring back the glory days when the club won trophies in the National Soccer League (NSL) in front of crowds in excess of 15,000.

Glory are the only current Australian club to have not won any silverware in the A-League era.

Perth have only competed in one grand final in the A-League era and have only competed in the finals five times across the 13 seasons.

“It’s about winning trophies,” he said. “They’ve had success and it’s about tasting that success again.

“Perth has such huge potential. I know I speak with Tony Sage as well, it’s about tapping into that potential and achieving success. It’s long overdue.”

He added: “They were such a successful club in the national league and it’s a big football state as well.

“There’s a lot of fans there. We go there to try and make the glory days again.”

Crowds have dropped since the extinction of the NSL in Perth too, with Pignata’s learnings from his previous roles at Sydney and Wellington to be heeded.

“They’re different markets,” he said. “Sydney is very tough market. It’s about working with the local communities.

“It’s a lot of hard work. There’s no easy solutions. It’s a lot of work.

“It’s that engagement with the community and participants in the game. Every club does that and needs to continue to do that.

“Football is such a huge participation game, it’s about tapping into those people who play the game and making them members of the club as well.

“I’ve been in the A-League now over 10 years. I know what’s needed. It’s about getting out there, meeting people and talking to the grass roots.”

He added he didn’t think twice when offered the job.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “When the opportunity arose I didn’t really hesitate.

“As I said it’s got plenty of potential and with Tony Popovic going there as well, I think we can make a difference.”