By ADEM SARICAOGLU
IT IS not yet known whether Werribee City will be in the established Victorian Premier League or the newly-proposed, but troubled National Premier League in 2014.
Either way, though, the Bees are looking forward to next year.
Werribee City is one of the final applicants for the Football Federation Victoria-proposed NPL competition.
But with the implementation of the new league currently on hold, Werribee City’s immediate future remains in limbo.
Should the NPL not come to fruition, the Bees will find themselves in the VPL for the first time since the mid-1990s after finishing second in State League One this season.
City coach Nino Ragusa is immensely proud of what his group was able to produce in 2013.
“They actually showed this elating desire to be successful and chase what we were chasing,” Ragusa said.
“They’d never (earned promotion) before, they had confidence in themselves (and) they had confidence in what I do and what I put forward to them.”
The Bees’ final game of the season, a home fixture against Sunshine George Cross, was a virtual grand final.
Though no silverware was up for grabs for the two clubs (who were equal on points going in), the winner was guaranteed second place on the table and hence, would be promoted into the state’s premier competition.
In a tense, high-quality battle, it was City’s Leigh Minopoulos who produced an excellent finish for the only goal of the game.
The win capped off what has been a whirlwind couple of years for the Bees, who not so long ago found themselves in State League Two.
Under Ragusa, City has been priming itself for the NPL and thus chosen to nurture a wealth of young talent in favour of luring in a lot of experience.
However, as it now seems more likely the Bees will instead be part of the VPL next year, Ragusa admits he’ll need to change some of his philosophies in order to be competitive.
“Once we find out where we’re playing then I’ll sit down with the club and we’ll see what kind of resources they can put behind me to achieve whatever we have to achieve next year,” Ragusa said.
“If it’s the Premier League (VPL), obviously we haven’t achieved two promotions in the last three years to go up and struggle and come straight back down.
“We would love to be competitive and stay there, but if it’s the NPL, then we’ve already got a young team to take us through the next three years in that type of environment.”
