By Nicholas Creely
It’s the beginning of a new era for the Sandown Cobras, who are looking to put the past behind them and move into the 2017 season with vigour.
With just six wins in the previous two seasons, including just one last year, the club has transformed itself off-field, firstly with the signing of former North Brunswick coach Ange Sammartino to the helm for the upcoming season and a shake-up at board level.
On-field Sammartino is uniting the fledging football club and looking to rebuild from the ground up, albeit slowly, and said that the pre-season has been fairly inconsistent, but is confident the club can turn the corner.
“Our pre-season started way back in early November with six weeks of training leading in to Christmas before having a month off and coming back together in mid-January,” he told the Journal.
“While the number of ‘different heads’ on the track has exceeded 60, we have had a consistent 10 to 15 turning up to each session however not always the same heads.
“It’s been difficult to establish routines and game plans so the main focus has been on getting the guys fit and helping them to understand the value of each possession that they get.
“We spend a fair bit of time in every session doing basic skill work to ensure that players work on polishing their disposals in order to enable us to maintain possession.”
An approach Sammartino has decided to undertake this season is to not look to the past, but rather look forward and think about what the club can do in the future.
“2016 has been read its rites and we are looking forward,” he said.
“The strength of the club will be how it works towards rebuilding.
“So far in 2017 they’ve got a new coaching panel, a new committee and chairperson and, most importantly, we’ve got a core group that are prepared to lay the foundations that will see the club improve over the next two to three years.
“Let’s face it, there is no quick fix and we all understand that it’s going to take time to repair the occurrences of the past, but we’re banding together and the club is a really great place to be around.
“As for this year, I refuse to set any great expectations. Let’s get ourselves right on and off the field and build on whatever we achieve in 2018.”
In terms of the Cobras’ coaching structure, they have added Phil Dickson, someone who Sammartino is confident will have a major impact on the playing group, but have maintained the majority of their 2016 coaching staff.
“Obviously I’m new but, other than that, I’ve been more than happy for the guys that were around in 2016 to stay on board as they bring player knowledge to the table,” he said.
“The Club has also appointed Phil Dickson to the role of Director of Coaching and his knowledge will be invaluable.”
The Cobras will kick off their 2017 campaign against Lyndale on 8 April.
Anyone interested in playing for the club can contact Zain Machfud through emailing sandowncobrasfc@gmail.com.
