McMahon enjoying life in Perth

It was with much relief that Perth Glory came away from North Harbour Stadium with a 1-0 victory against New Zealand Knights on Thursday evening.

Glory coach Steve McMahon was happy to get the points, “Yes, of course it is a fantastic win, we're overjoyed, it was a hard-fought one-nil and you'll take that any day of the week away from home. Things weren't going (the Knights') way and you have to capitalise on that which I think we did very, very well. We now must build on it, and we face a big challenge next week when Sydney FC travel West.”

McMahon spoke to SportsAustralia.com about his thoughts of the new A-League and his new home in Perth.

Firstly how have you and the family settled in WA? “Brilliant, fantastic, it is a great place to live and my family has really enjoyed being here. Steve Jr has had a couple of niggling injuries but things are looking better and things are fine for Stephen also.”

It’s a big transition from the UK to Perth but McMahon is getting used to it, “It has been quite difficult, culture wise it has been very difficult at times because it hasn't been a full time sport but I am gradually getting used to it. The size of the squad in my opinion is too small, we need a bigger one, and it is the only way to cope with injuries. It is catch 22 though because we would need more games to fund those players if we were to have a bigger squad.”

On the new A-League McMahon was pleased but believed there may be a change at the end of the inaugural season, “Changes probably will be made but initially it is very, very good. It is trial and error but at the end of this season we will have a clear view of what needs to be done.”

Steve believes there is plenty of talent in the local Football West competition and was asked if the club would look at some for the A-league, “Maybe a couple, we are monitoring the situation but there are restrictions on us. We will be monitoring all the players that we think are good enough.”

Steve who had an illustrious playing career in the UK, at club and international level with England and when asked about the game that stands out in his memory, he was quick with an answer, “It was the FA Cup final in 1989 between Everton and Liverpool. We won 3-2, and it was the Hillsborough Cup Final, so it was an emotional match for obvious reasons and to beat Everton in an FA Cup final was quite something.”

Thanks for your time Steve, good luck to you and the team for the rest of the season.

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