Gisborne coach Danny Moore is hoping a full pre-season together will help the Sky Blues in the FV state league 4 west season.
After taking over midway through last season, Moore ensured the side remained in state league 4 in their first season in that division.
Now he and the group are hoping to take further steps.
“Being here from day one [of pre-season], has made such a difference,” he said.
“I’ve been able to implement my style of play and the key messages and expectations as well.
“There’s no reason why we can’t position for a higher spot up the table. We have the players to do that.
“We want to shake things up and aim higher.”
Gisborne has kept their core group together and looked to add some extra depth to the squad.
Moore said it wasn’t about just finding the right players, but the right people to help build the culture at the club.
“It’s something we needed to do to take that next step forward,” he said. “It’s added another element to help us compete.”
Matthew Hume has come across from Sunbury United; Jason Abela has joined from Fawkner’ and Adam Gazic has come across from Essendon United – all state league 3 sides.
Moore said it had been a strong pre-season, with the group bringing a good attitude and application.
“Our pre-season practice games have been against teams ranked higher, in state league 3,” he said.
“We’ve done really well, but you can’t read into the results. The performance levels from my guys have been fantastic.”
On Saturday, the Sky Blues kicked off their FFA Cup campaign in round one of the competition.
The Sky Blues took on Brunswick Zebras and fought back from two goals down to take the game into overtime.
They would ultimately loss, 4-3. Sean O’Callaghan, Abela and Liam Vella were the goalscorers for the Sky Blues.
Moore said while a win in the cup would have been good for the confidence heading into the regular season, their focus was long term.
