Interim Perth coach Adam Griffiths has thrown his hat in the ring for the full-time role, promising to dig the club out of the doldrums by implementing an attractive and no-fear brand of football.
Griffiths was thrust into the hot seat on Tuesday night after Glory’s hierarchy sacked coach David Zdrilic just two rounds into the A-League Men (ALM) season.
It continued a worrying demise for coaches at Perth Glory, with Alen Stajcic, Ruben Zadkovich and Richard Garcia also seeing the axe since Tony Popovic departed in 2020.
Griffiths’ first game as interim coach ended in a 2-0 loss to Melbourne Victory on Friday night.
But the team was at least able to fire off 16 shots, while also enjoying 57 per cent possession – a stark contrast to the opening two rounds and last season’s wooden spoon campaign.
Griffiths was highly regarded during his head coaching stint at NSW NPL side Manly United, and more recently has served as an ALM assistant under Marko Rudan at Western Sydney and Giancarlo Italiano at Wellington.
Interim Perth coach Adam Griffiths says he can be the head coach
Griffiths had a number of stints at the Newcastle Jets when he was a player
But the 46-year-old faces a big fight to win the Glory head coaching role full-time, with the club believed to be in talks with Western United coach John Aloisi, as well as his older brother Ross Aloisi, who is currently an assistant under Kevin Muscat at Chinese outfit Shanghai Port.
A-League title-winning coach Patrick Kisnorbo could also be in the mix.
Griffiths will probably only have one more game in charge – against Central Coast in Perth next Friday night – before the club makes a decision on who to appoint as coach.
‘I feel like this is an audition,’ Griffiths said.
‘I don’t know which actor I’d be, but this is an audition for me, just to show that I can see a clear change in playing style, clear change in momentum and a shift to keep filling these Perth Glory players with confidence to play attractive football.
‘Obviously, we didn’t get the win … but there was a clear shift.
‘We had 57 per cent possession. We had 16 shots on goal. We had some big moments which could have changed the tempo and changed the momentum of the game.’
Griffiths has given his players the licence to take the game on and he won’t punish them for making mistakes while attempting something ambitious.
Griffiths also played for Sydney FC and earned two caps for Australia
‘I do not care if they lose the ball, as long as they’re trying to play a certain style of football,’ Griffiths said.
‘We’ve got to break that fear and play with more freedom. If we can get that, then you’ll start to see more attractive football.
‘We need to get belief back in Perth Glory. We need to get a winning mentality, and we need to have that fight.
‘If anyone followed NPL, I coached Manly United and we played one of the most attractive football in the league, so I’m looking to try to replicate that.’
