Kingston City makes its first return to the top tier in nine seasons when it kicks off the new NPL 1 season in the local Greek derby with south-eastern neighbours Oakleigh Cannons in less than three weeks time at Jack Edwards reserve.
Kingston’s young coach Nick Tolios well remembers the previous Kingston team which last played in the Premier League in seasons 2006-07, as he played in that team as an uncompromising defender. That team started with a bang, reaching the finals in its first season before fizzing out dramatically by being relegated in the second year when the money ran out and the club fell on hard times financially.
Although Tolios is determined that his current team won’t suffer the same fate, he’s well aware of the challenges facing his team.
“For me, and Bill Theodoropoulos, Lou Kastner and Michael Iacomidis my team manager, it’s going to be a challenge. We know that. But it’s going to be an opportunity to prove a lot of people wrong in regards to whether we deserve to be here or not.”
Without the financial resources of some of the more established NPL 1 clubs, attracting experienced proven talent to replace such players as last year’s influential visa player Zendel Koukal has been difficult for the young coach. However he has been able to retain much of the talented squad of last season which pipped Dandenong Thunder at the post to clinch promotion.
“I trust the boys that I had from last year. And that’s why the majority of the boys we’ve kept, bar a handful who have moved on just so they can play a bit more regularly − Deniz Sabanovski (to Box Hill United) and George Stavdridis (Northcote City).”
He believes that exciting, talented young forwards Stelios Konstantinidis, Velibor Mitrovic, Mouad Zwed and Damian Iaconis will have an opportunity this season to establish themselves as NPL 1 players.
“Mo (Zwed) is an unknown because not many people know Mo. I think he’s going to excite the league. He’s a very exciting player on his day, I don’t think anyone can go with him. He’s an exciting player for us but he needs to get fitter − that’s the one thing holding him back at the moment, his fitness. I think those three, and Damian Iaconis, I think he’s a young boy who can really do well this year.”
With the additional signings of striker and target man Sean McIlroy, and versatile players such as Chris Irwin (ex-South Melbourne) and Erhaz Yalaz (ex-Port Melbourne), Tolios is confident he has plenty of options, and competition for spots in the forward line. Defensively, new signings from Dandenong Thunder Sakhizada and Daniel Bennet, as well as Nathan Tidmarsh, join Ryan Love, Simo Jovanovic and Hamish Millar to give depth in defence.
Tolios says the squad is almost complete although he concedes, “if anything we’re probably lacking that defensive midfielder that’s a bigger body. A bigger commanding presence, and who could also swing around and play centre half if need be”.
One of the lessons that the young 35-year-old coach has picked up along the way is that spending big money doesn’t necessarily bring a club success, and conversely, as last season showed, you don’t need the biggest budget to do well.
“As long as you’ve got good team cohesion − a team that plays for each other, and a good atmosphere, I think you can achieve a lot.
“For me [the aim] is just cementing our spot in the NPL. That’s our goal first and foremost. I think Kingston’s been in the position before where they got promoted and went out to try and win it in the first year and you saw how badly that ended. The important part for us is not to make the same mistakes, cement our spot in this league and hopefully grow the following year.”
Tolios says he’s looking forward to playing against some of the biggest teams in Melbourne and in a lot of local and Greek derbies. “It’s going to be fantastic.” But what he’s looking forward with even greater anticipation in the coming season is “seeing how a lot of the young boys that we’ve had in our squad the last two or three years, to see how they’re going to go in the top flight”.
“The good thing is we’re unknown. It’s important to pick up as many points early on before teams start to figure out how we play − what our strengths and weaknesses are. I think that’s important.”
“The team I fear most is my own team, because I don’t know what I’m going to get on the day. There are so many different personalities. That’s the team I fear most. On our day, we can beat any other team. I don’t fear any other team. I think we can upset a lot of teams.”