Inglewood United’s supporters will be given a glimpse into the future as caretaker coach Goran Stajic promotes from within the club’s fertile youth ranks over the closing stages of the season. Stajic, Inglewood’s director of coaching, stepped into the role of first team coach late last week following the departure of Graham Normanton. Only a few days later he signalled the club’s intention to begin building towards next season by handing under-20s pair Cameron Sutton and Josh Demarte their first National Premier Leagues starts, away at ECU Joondalup.
And Stajic has every confidence that there are other talented youngsters at Intiga Stadium who, like Sutton and Demarte, are ready for senior football. “Youth development is close to my heart and I’m hoping to promote some young quality into the team over the coming weeks,” commented Stajic. “The supporters deserve the opportunity to see the next generation of Inglewood United, and the coaches who worked to develop these players also deserve to see their hard work come to fruition. Hopefully, the youth players selected take their chance and do the club proud.”
With Inglewood out of the finals race, Stajic says the time is right to do a little experimentation. “We’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain,” he reasoned. “We want to show players within our club, along with those at other clubs, that Inglewood promotes and develops NPL footballers. A great example of this was the recent friendly with Perth Glory where we had five players under the age of 20 complementing our quality senior players. There will be some short-term pain for long-term gain but the ultimate goal is to have a well-structured and well-drilled team.”
Stajic revealed he wouldn’t be at Inglewood today had it not been for his predecessor. “Graham was one of the main reasons I came to coach at Inglewood, and to have two years under him has not only developed me further as a coach but also as a person,” Stajic said of Normanton. “Graham’s integrity, passion and knowledge of the game certainly enhances you. It’s been an enormous privilege to be around and assist an icon of West Australian football, and I can’t wait to see what he does next and to continue to observe and learn from him, albeit from a distance.”
Normanton has had an enormous effect on Inglewood, so much so that Stajic says it will be felt for many years to come. “Graham assembled an amazing coaching line-up during his three seasons and bought some great off-field staff to the club,” he said. “He unearthed players and helped polish others that had the talent but needed the attitude and support to succeed further. Many of these players have gone on to play in our first team, at other NPL clubs or, like Jack Clisby, make the move into professional football … Graham has certainly laid some strong foundations at Inglewood.”
Stajic intends to build upon those foundations as Inglewood strive to reach the top of the NPL hierarchy. “Graham and the team obviously had their ambitions for the season and I’ll consult the leadership group to work out which ones we’ll keep and how we’ll add to them,” said Stajic. “Graham’s persona was big, he always had time for everyone and I’ll continue to instil the integrity and passion that he displayed in the hope it will further develop my football knowledge, and make Inglewood the club of choice to play for and support in Western Australia.”
