A-League grand final: Why Perth Glory are ready to bring out their A game

When Tony Popovic arrived to take on his role as the new Perth Glory coach, he knew that out in the suburbs there was a passionate supporter base that just needed a bit of love.

Popovic also knew that he had at his disposal a team capable of delivering that affection as he headed into his first A-League season in charge of the 22-year-old club.

So he veered away from the “we’ll take time to build” mantra invariably trotted out by coaches at the start of their coaching reigns.

And it’s almost paid off. Glory have charged into Sunday’s grand final against Sydney at Optus Stadium and in doing so, stirred the club’s supporters — many of whom had drifted away — to the point that up to 55,000 fans are expected to pack into the venue. As of late yesterday, 4000 tickets were still available.

Glory’s history was far from foreign to Popovic when he moved to Perth last year, having first played against them as Sydney captain back in 2007.

“Football has had a great history here in the past and for whatever reason, it lost its way a little bit,” Popovic said.

“When we got here we always said we needed to speak with our actions as a club and if we did, we could get people to really embrace football once more. I think that’s slowly been happening throughout the year and the word is spreading that things are getting done right.

“Now, I feel the people are starting to feel a connection with Perth Glory and football in general again. It’s never been something that hasn’t existed and now when you think that this stadium is going to more than likely be full, it’s exciting that people are embracing it.

“You have to understand where you’re coming as a coach, what the past was, what the future could hold and what the present is. Hopefully, we can conclude this part of the journey with a win for them on Sunday.”

Popovic was almost joking when he explained that his experience in A-League grand finals was that he had lost three of them when previously in charge of the Western Sydney Wanderers. But there is a burn that lingers from that, particularly for a competitive beast such as him.

Glory won two championships in the now defunct National Soccer League, but the club’s first piece of A-League silverware came in the form of the Premiers’ Plate this season.

Popovic is confident of adding to the cabinet tomorrow.

“This one is certainly different to everything I had at Wanderers,” he said. “It’s a different team, it’s a different city, a different way of playing, different quality of players.

“This is now and I’m not reflecting on anything that’s happened in the past. We are here because we’re good enough and we are playing at home because we deserve to play at home because we’ve been the best team in the league.

“We have a chance to show that once more in front of a full stadium, full of purple shirts supporting us. It’s a privilege and an honour to be in another grand final.”

Glory owner Tony Sage stood beside Premier Mark McGowan outside Optus Stadium on Thursday night, pictured above, and said he was thrilled by the widespread support for the game. “This is something I’ve dreamed of, filling up a stadium like this,” Mr Sage said. “Now I’d love to fill HBF Park (Glory’s home ground) every week. That would be what fully fulfils my dreams and hopefully after this grand final win we can do that next year.”

Stadium boss Mike McKenna said the venue was built for such events.