Adam Griffiths step up to the mantle for Manly United
By Chris Curulli
Manly United will usher in a new era of their history when Adam Griffiths takes charge of his first match as senior men’s head coach when the club face Sydney FC at Cromer Park on Saturday night.
Griffiths knows the club well having been previously involved as 18s, 20s and most recently first grade assistant coach to the outgoing Paul Dee.
He will be assisted by Marty Judge, who he has coached alongside for the last four years, and Dylan Macallister, who Griffiths played against professionally during their time in the A-League.
Manly remain undefeated at Cromer Park in 2020 after a spirited come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the ladder leaders Sydney Olympic a week ago.
Griffiths is eager to build on this momentum moving forward.
“It’s an exciting time and a great opportunity to coach at a club like Manly,” he said.
“I’ve been working with the players already so there’s nothing too different there as all the players know me well and know what I’m about.
“There aren’t huge amounts of change so we’ve transitioned really well and now we’re looking to add even more detail and progress.”
A shining light so far this season for has been the club’s injection of youth talent into the first grade squad.
This was highlighted as youngsters James Georgaklis and Jordan Devries found the back of the net last week.
In the long run, Griffiths is hoping to continue providing opportunities for those who earn them.
“We have a lot of very good talented young players and I hope to give them a pathway – similar to how the club has allowed me to progress as a coach,” he explained.
“Our goal is to make sure that there’s a real connection between the Boys Youth League and the senior teams.
“We don’t want these players feeling the need to leave, because I believe Manly has one of the best junior setups in NSW. We want that to continue through to the senior squad and make sure that some of the young players only leave if they are going to first grade A-League teams or an overseas club.
“We are looking to provide them opportunities but also looking to provide them with high quality coaching, so that they can achieve their goals.”
The former Socceroo also has his eye set on maintaining a winning culture at first grade level, something the club’s long-term servants will play a significant role in upholding.
“Our experienced players like Brendan Cholakian are buying into what we’re doing, and I expect his game to continue improving each week,” Griffiths enforced.
“It’s great that we have our youth but also these players who have been a part of the team for so long are going to drive these guys forward and play a huge part in having a successful team.”
Griffiths is expecting a tough challenge against an in-form Sydney FC this weekend, who backed up a 6-1 rout of North Shore Mariners with a 1-0 upset victory over defending champions APIA Leichhardt last time out.
The A-League academy side are led by former Manly coach Jimmy Van Weeren and pose a healthy contingent of players who previously represented the Northern Beaches club.
“Sydney FC are a talented young squad and they’ve evolved a lot to be more and more competitive at NPL level,” Griffiths said.
“Jimmy (Van Weeren) is a very good coach who I have coached against before. I’m expecting a very tough, tactical game that is also hopefully another exciting game with a lot of goals.”
While the match was originally scheduled to take place away from home, a last-minute location change will see a 7pm kick off at Cromer Park on Saturday night.
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