First of all, what was your relationship like with the club?
I had a fantastic relationship with the Mariners as a whole. Obviously, I’ve been at the club for a few years now, so in that time I’ve worked under a couple of different managers and a few different CEOs, one captain but a revolving change room.
But I really, really enjoyed my time at the Mariners it’s been a fantastic couple of years, I am really grateful for the opportunity that I got given when I left Gold Coast United and it’s sad to say goodbye.
Which coach did you value working under the most?
I am going to be diplomatic and say that every coach I’ve worked under has provided me with a platform to go out and play football. As a player, all I really wanted to do was just to play. Under Graham Arnold, he gave me the opportunity and it was tough to come straight into the squad when you’re sitting behind Trent Sainsbury and Patrick Zwaanswijk.
On the other hand, with Phil Moss coming in, he gave me the opportunity to play.
I really learned a lot that first year. I was very fortunate to come into such a strong first XI and squad, for that matter, so I learned a huge amount under Graham Arnold but since then, I’ve had the opportunity to play and I think that experience outweighs training 365 days of the year.
There were rumours swirling for some time, even before Moss was sacked, that there was player unrest in the dressing room. Can you reveal anything about that period?
Mossy came in and he had a blueprint provided to him from Graham Arnold. I think, from my point of view, Mossy used that extremely well but he also wanted to stamp his own authority on the squad, like any head coach does, and that took time. He had a pre-season and we started the season quite slowly and things happened really quickly.
In terms of player unrest, I can honestly say within the change room, we had no issues at all - as a playing group and as a collective. We always pride ourselves on having a close relationship with the coaching staff and the playing group.
I think the unrest purely came from the fact that we were proud people and as players we were really disappointed with the standards that we were setting with ourselves. To be sitting where we were the majority of the season and to see good people like Phil Moss lose their job, particularly because of a lack of performance from the playing group, is never nice to see.
We’re people first and we’re footballers second. To see a good person like Phil Moss, who gave his heart and soul to the club, have to leave in pretty quick circumstances, it was pretty disappointing.
As a player, obviously there’s very high standards that you try and set yourself and at times not everyone is going to get on. But I can honestly say, within that change room, it’s a very close-knit dressing room. Moving forward, I hope that culture continues.
Talk us through that transitional phase when Mossy left and Tony Walmsley was appointed as the interim head coach. How did the playing group react to that change?
Whenever a gaffer gets relieved of his duties, the players always have to stand up and take the burden on, of having to turn things around. You see that all over the world in football that, whenever a gaffer leaves, you see a spark in performance and players start to brighten up and start to realise that we’ve actually got to change things here.
The period under Tony, obviously when he came in, he wanted to stamp his authority on things and he wanted to change the system completely. He wasn’t happy with the way we were playing and the message we were getting from the top was that he wanted to play more exciting football, to press more as a defensive unit.
So very quickly, we changed things and it’s not easy when you’ve got five to six games to go, when you’ve got a squad who he obviously wanted to change things very quickly and we just had to adapt as best we could.
For times it worked but then there was other times like the Brisbane Roar game away where it really didn’t work. We never saw that result coming but I think it was just a bit of a hangover of a few weeks where the boys were probably mentally just a little bit drained from the transition from Phil to Tony and the change of formation and tactics.
It was obviously disappointing to not even get close to the finals because as a playing squad we set ourselves a very high standard. But Tony has come in and has huge ambitions for next season and strong directions from the board and from the top of the club.
So hopefully moving forward, within that change room the culture can remain the same, which I think is probably the most important thing with moving John Hutchinson to a coaching role. But it’s going to be a real mammoth task next season.
You mentioned that Tony Walmsley has huge ambitions for next season, which doesn’t include yourself or a number of Mariners players who have already been released. How did you react to the news? Did it surprise you, or were you prepared for it?
In terms of other players, I’d prefer to let them comment on that themselves, but for myself, I spoke to the club early on in the season. I let Mossy know of my ambitions to possibly look for further things in the off-season but at the same time, he understood how ambitious I was to further my career and he was very happy with the fact that I wanted to leave discussions until the end of the season.
Once Tony came in, we had a sit down and a quick conversation and it was a very simple conversation. It was just, ‘Tony, I want to do a job for you, let’s get the season out of the way. I am ambitious, I want to further my career. If it’s here I am not sure but let’s sit down at the end of the season.’
That time came after the Melbourne Victory game where I had a chat with Tony and the other coaches and we just discussed that mutually it would be the best for both parties that we went our separate ways and that’s the decision that myself and the club made.
Like I said before, I’ve had a great three years here and I’ve really enjoyed the roller coaster ride and the ups and downs of a small club within Australia. But any player will tell you that there’s obviously a time limit on any contract at a club. Unfortunately, that time has come for me now and I am just really looking forward to the next chapter.
So tell us, what does that next chapter involve for Zac Anderson?
At the moment, it’s a bit of a period of waiting where I am in limbo because of the transfer windows. I’ve made it very clear to my management and to the close people around me that I feel like I’ve got a lot to give still and I’ve got a lot of improvement in me.
I’ve just turned 24 years-old, I am at a good age where I feel like I could give any club my heart and soul. If that’s domestically or if that’s overseas, I haven't yet made up mind.
I am in the process at the moment of looking at a few options and I am really hungry to look at the next couple of years, really kick-on and try and further my career.
I know it won’t matter how much I press you on the issue but can you reveal whether those options are in Australia or overseas?
I can’t give you any concrete answers, I’d love to tell you that I’ve got everything finalised because it would make my life a lot easier. I’d love to be going on a holiday and travelling around but I’ve taken these challenges on board.
I’ve got a few people that have gotten in contact with me within Australia and there are few things overseas in Europe and in Asia as well. I am looking forward to finalising that next step and being able to concentrate on the next part.
Would you prefer to stay in the A-League or have you always had ambitions to go overseas?
I think any player will tell you they’ve got ambitions to go overseas but I am not one of those players that is going to go over just to say that I’ve played overseas. I love playing in Australia.
I’ve played nearly 100 games here in the A-League now. I feel like I’ve established myself and the only reason why I’d go overseas would be to further myself, to try and improve myself, to try and get more out of myself. If the right club pokes it’s head out at me and the manager says ‘you’re the player to come and do a job’ that could change things.
I am just eager to put my front foot forward. I’ve got a lot of great years left in me and I am really looking forward to getting this contract situation sorted and moving on.
So no calls from your former coach, Graham Arnold then?
(Laughs) We’ll go with no comment!
Thanks so much for your time Ando, I wish you all the very best - whether it’s in Australia or abroad.
Thanks Lucy, I appreciate it!
