Dandenong Thunder have moved quickly to replace the outgoing Stuart Munro by naming Huss Skenderovic as their new manager for the 2016 NPL 1 season.
The 43-year-old recently returned to Melbourne after spending the past three years working in the United Arab Emirates with Ajman Club as Technical Director.
Skenderovic, who is joined by Aaron Symons as assistant, takes charge at George Andrews Reserve after 2009 Premiership winning manager Stuart Munro departed the club following its relegation at the end of the season, with the new man in charge being the club’s first-choice candidate for the role.
“The objective is to get the team promoted back into NPL straight away, the club is very ambitious and has a great base to build their foundations again,” Skenderovic told the Corner Flag.
“The offer came from their football board who heard that I was back in Melbourne. They also approached my close friend and former mentor at Richmond in Mike Chatzitrifonas to see if I was keen to come on board.”
Skenderovic’s playing career included spells at the Melbourne Knights and St Albans Saints in the 1990s, before serving as assistant coach to Phil Stubbins and Mike Chatzitrifonas at Richmond, helping win the 2010 VPL Premiership.
Short stints as manager of Western Suburbs and St Albans Saints in 2011 followed, before taking charge of the Oakleigh Cannons in 2012.
Despite a good start to the season which saw the Cannons sit fourth after 11 rounds, Skenderovic was controversially dismissed from Jack Edwards Reserve mid-way through the season.
Three years abroad coaching in Dubai as well as in India with FC Goa saw his stocks rise throughout the continent.
However, a desire to come home saw Skenderovic return to Melbourne mid-year before taking up the reins at Thunder, back in the second tier of Victorian football next season for the first time since 2008.
Despite this setback, the former Oakleigh manager is confident that the club’s stay in NPL 1 will be temporary, with the aim to get promoted straight back up next season.
Thunder won the league and cup double in 2012, but the club has been plagued by financially instability since their victory over the Oakleigh Cannons at AAMI Park in October of that year.
Skenderovic is confident that such off-the-field troubles will not hamper his tenure at the Dandenong South-based club.
“I am very confident that such issues won’t affect us anymore as the club has been made stronger by adversity,” he said.
“They have weathered the storm and now sees their future being focused on professional development.
“The budget is realistic once more with a new football board at the helm who have a clear vision to implement change.”
Skenderovic also spoke of his desire to bring the big crowds back to George Andrews Reserve, known to attract four digit figures on a regular basis during their more successful seasons in the top flight, with a winning culture seen as integral aspect of returning to those heights.
“The Thunder have a strong culture in their community and the club plays a huge part of that,” he said.
“The importance of winning and playing good football is the key as with any club to bringing the people back through the gates.”
Skenderovic, whose nephew Enes Sivic was part of the all-conquering Thunder 2012 squad, believes he himself has benefited and improved substantially in his development as a coach through his experiences overseas, and is keen to see that improvement in effect at his new home in 2016.
“Working over there as a full time professional coach has enabled me to utilise the stint to develop, learn and maximise what I have implemented over the years through my football education in Australia,” he said.
“My experience has highlighted the fact that I have gained valuable experience and football knowledge with my methodology being refined in various ways to simplify the communication and conduct process to be very specific to detail.”
Having been aided by his coaching ventures abroad, the pragmatic Skenderovic is assured that the circumstances are right for himself and the club to bounce back into the NPL and once more become a powerhouse of the competition.