Richmond SC will look to build a case for promotion back to the NPL top flight with Alan Mulcahy as captain in 2017 under a newly announced restructured coaching panel.
Mulcahy, brought to the club mid-season by former coach Rick Mensink, has recommitted himself to another campaign at KB Reserve as the club looks to build on the promising progression made in its youth departments.
“Last year was a disappointing year but with the young lads coming through there is a lot of potential there for the club to push on,” Mulcahy stated.
“Richmond is a great club with some great people behind the scenes and I am happy to be on board to hopefully lead the club back to where it belongs. It will be a challenging year but I am up for the challenge.”
Savas Saglam will take on the role of Technical Manager helping oversee football operations at all levels while Paul Donnelly will take over the senior coaching position left vacant by the well regarded outgoing coach Rick Mensink.
Richmond’s task in 2017 will not be an easy one, with the stakes in NPL 2 set to increase significantly due to the reintroduction of relegation.
Saglam, who played in Hume City’s first official senior game back in 1979 and had four separate stints as head coach of the club, said he had taken some inspiration from his former club’s coaching restructure earlier this year.
“Our model is very similar to the Hume City model,” Saglam told MFootball.
“There is a technical manager from the seniors down to the juniors so everything is in line.”
“The main thing is for all those coaches to be accredited, playing in-line and playing the club philosophy.”
Saglam explained that he will be further investing in Richmond’s already wealthy youth stocks which saw the club’s under 20 side take out the NPL Victoria title in 2016.
“We want to give opportunities to those under 20 players who did so well last year and to get as many of them through to playing senior football in the first XI next year as possible,” Saglam said.
“Our objective is to at least get half of those boys through playing regular first team football next year.”
“Our aims are high and our aim is to do well but at the same time there will be plenty of opportunities for the kids coming through our system.”
“It will be based on how quickly they can grasp that opportunity and how well they do.”
Richmond’s relegation to the NPL 2 was sealed in a promotion/relegation loss to North Geelong, a club that had ironically met the same fate against Melbourne Victory in 2015.
Saglam explained that the club was disrupted by timing of the game which saw it have to wait four weeks before it could contest the fixture which would ultimately decide its fate in the top flight.
“We were unhappy with the break between the last game and the playoff,” Saglam said.
“In our last four games we won two and we drew two and then we had this four week break for the playoff so the team lost its rhythm, but North Geelong were deserved winners.”
Disappointing way to end our season last night but full credit to @NGWFC. We'll be back #IAmRichmond
— Richmond Soccer Club (@RichmondSC1953) September 18, 2016
Mensink’s departure from the club following its relegation on the final day of the season left a considerable sized hole in the dressing rooms of the 2015 NPL 2 Grand Final winners.
Saglam paid tribute to Mesink’s role in getting the club out of a trough and helping build a strong youth development structure which he will look to continue in the role of Technical Manager.
“Rick came in at time when the club was in a flux,” Saglam said.
“The first year Mensink got Richmond into fourth position, he tidied the club up and set it up and he prepared himself for a promotion tilt the year after, which he achieved in the second year with a very young side.”
“In the third year he entered a league where there is a big difference between NPL and NPL 2. For any new team going up it’s a reasonable sized challenge and I think that if you look at the last four games there was definitely progress going on.
“Rick is an innovative thinker. He gave a lot of young kids a chance last year, like Javier Marangos from the under 20’s, and we hope to continue that this year with a lot more of those under 20 guys coming into the senior team.”
Whilst Saglam, who has an FFA A licence, will take a leadership role in the operations of the senior team, the larger part of responsibility will fall on the shoulders of Paul Donnelly as senior team coach. Saglam explained that he believes Donnelly’s experience as a player will help him guide the relatively youthful senior team.
“Paul has had a very good career as a player and he is very good with man management.”
“What we are expecting is Paul to bring a fresh approach and good man management with the senior group.”