Former NSL and NPL club, and now struggling State League One club, Caroline Springs George Cross is hoping recently appointed senior coach Eric Vassiliadis will be able to repeat his promotion winning feats of 2010-2012 when he led Port Melbourne Sharks from State league 2 into the VPL over three seasons.

The Georgies re-branded themselves this season from their former name of Sunshine George Cross to coincide with their move to newly built, state of the art sporting facilities in Fraser Rise near Caroline Springs.

Whilst things are looking good off the park, at the half way mark of the current season the team is struggling at the bottom of the State League table. And although there is no relegation due to a league restructure next season, the club clearly has ambitions of regaining its place in the NPL.

Enter Vassiliadis.

The former long serving Heidelberg United defender has since the promotion winning days at the Sharks gone on to gain extensive NPL coaching experience, first with the Port Melbourne Sharks, then a brief stint at Melbourne Knights and followed most recently by a season at Northcote City.

Speaking to Football Nation Radio earlier this week, in just his second week on the job as senior Georgies coach, Vassiliadis said, “The mandate was to come in and, to use the board’s terms, ‘to build and consolidate’. I probably wouldn’t have taken on the opportunity if there was relegation, because I think it brings with it other challenges and makes it difficult to come in mid-season, which is what I went through at Melbourne Knights. So I think I come into this role in a much better place, psychologically and mentally, about having a long term vision which is consistent with what the board wants to do.”
He added, “everything we’re doing this year is with an eye to next year and beyond. That’s the responsibility we’ve got.”

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Vassiliadis describes the recent move to the new facility as “tremendously uplifting”.

“I must congratulate the board and broader George Cross community for what they’ve achieved. As an old NSL person, I remember the heights of George Cross with my Heidelberg days,” he said.

“So I think we’ve finally and for a long time, we’ve got a facility and a brand that’s becoming of our football club. The board has done everything they need to do off the field. It’s now my ambition and my role, together with assistant coaches Steve Bebic and Theo Mihailidis, to run the football department and bring it back to where it needs to be as well.”

But Vassiliadis remains level headed about what it will take to achieve promotion out of the state leagues into the NPL. He believes the football department needs to take a pragmatic approach, based on an understanding of what’s required to be successful in the league.

“The State League is a tough league to get out of. It’s not always just about throwing some financial resources to it … Importantly, in my experience, getting promoted from State 2 all the way through to the VPL and NPL each year provided its own unique challenges as a league. So we have no intention of being this ball playing team that builds through the lines. We’re not going to go out and try to be something we’re not. You know in State 2, it just doesn’t work in my experience. It’s about getting consistent, sort of match hardened men surrounded by some good vibrant youth. And then getting the culture right.”

Vassiliadis has recruited four new players to the Georgies in the last two weeks, including George Slefondorfas (ex-Whittlesea Ranges), midfielders Brian Summerskill and Ethan Gage (ex South Melbourne and Bentleigh Greens) and winger Andre Zinio (Preston Lions).

He says the new signings bring quality to the squad and he’s “absolutely excited to have them on board”.

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