By EWEN McRAE
NEW Dandenong Thunder coach Stuart Munro is firmly focused on
making the finals this season rather than worrying about the dramatic
events that put him back in the role.
Munro rejoined Thunder after a two-year absence following
the surprise departure of Chris Taylor, who left to join Premier League
rival South Melbourne.
Munro took control of the side just 24 hours after flying in from Scotland.
“They called me when I was in the departure lounge in Melbourne,
saying Chris might be leaving, but I said I wouldn’t talk unless he was
gone,” Munro said.
“I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to get back into coaching.
“I got an email when I was overseas saying that Chris had left, so
I gave them my number and they got in contact and we had a bit of a
chat and I said I’d step in to take charge for the last 10 games of the
season, and they were happy with that.
“I enjoyed my time first time around with Dandy Thunder and that’s why I was happy to go back and help them out.”
Munro coached the club for the 2009 and 2010 seasons before taking
an assistant-coaching position with A-League club Perth Glory.
He finished at the Glory in March and has returned to his coaching
position at Rowville Sports Academy, where he worked before moving
west.
Munro’s first game back in charge of Thunder led to a 0-0 draw
with Bentleigh, although he’s confident the reigning premier can push
for a finals spot this season.
“There’s obviously been some problems at the club, and when Chris and a few of the players left, it left a bit of a negative feel,” Munro said. “But we spoke to the players about it and the way they responded in the game was very pleasing from our point of view.”
“We’ve obviously had our problems this year with having to play so many games
behind closed doors, but they’ve [Thunder] assured me that the finances
will be there and we won’t have any troubles as far as payments to
players are concerned.
“We’ll look forward and stay positive and go from there. If we
get some decent players through the transfer window, we still aim to make the finals and do as well as we can – that won’t change as far as I’m concerned.”
Thunder president Merson Azizi was equally confident of the club’s prospects.
“We’re pumped up. We’re obviously upset Chris left but we move on
and there’s bigger things to come from the Dandenong Thunder,” Azizi
said.
– emcrae@theweeklyreview.com.au
