By Dejan Kalinic
ST Albans Saints are in turmoil after losing two senior coaches in the space of five days.
Both Kruni Razov, who started the season as coach, and Huss Skenderovic, the man who had agreed to terms with the club, departed within a week.
Razov, who had been in charge for four seasons and led the Saints to promotion, was sacked less than 24 hours after a 2-0 loss to Bentleigh in round six of the Victorian Premier League (VPL).
The club’s search for a coach began immediately and Richmond assistant Skende-rovic was appointed on Wednesday afternoon.
But the deal collapsed hours later and former under-21s coach Joe Kovacevic was the caretaker as St Albans lost 2-0 against South Melbourne on Sunday.
Club president Danny Jutrisa was uneasy about the difficult position the Saints were in and would not comment on the circumstances surrounding Skenderovic’s short-lived stint as head coach.
“Unofficially, yes, he was appointed,” Jutrisa said.
“Unfortunately, we had to part ways due to an unforeseeable circumstance.”
Skenderovic was due to take training at Churchill Reserve on Thursday night, ahead of the game against South Melbourne.
Jutrisa said the former St Albans and Melbourne Croatia player had not been introduced to the playing group, but conceded that the “players were told that he may be their coach”.
The president confirmed Skenderovic never signed with the club, but it is understood that terms had been agreed and a contract was to be signed before Sunday’s game.
The club made the appointment of Skenderovic public to fans through its Facebook page, but the post has since been removed.
Skenderovic has been left without a coaching job after Richmond confirmed it gave him the all clear to apply for the vacant Saints role. The Eagles have appointed a new assistant.
He would have reunited with now Saints quartet Daniel Visevic, Tom Milardovic, Tomislav Uskok and Stefan Piorkowski, who all joined from Richmond.
Football operations manager Mark Ivkovic also resigned from the club on Wednesday night.
Jutrisa said he was confident the club could unite under pressure and remain in the top flight.
“I’m sure this difficult period will bond everyone together. We can achieve something that probably a lot of people wouldn’t think we could achieve and that’s to stay in the league this year,” Jutrisa said.
“There’s still a lot of support around the club and a lot of people who are willing to put in the hard yards to help out. We can still achieve what we set out to achieve.”
Jutrisa said the club was supported by a group of fans that were committed and ready to help the Saints succeed.
“They’re a very passionate bunch of blokes. They love the club. They obviously want to see the club succeed and they’ll do anything to get us in a successful era,” he said.
St Albans expects to announce its full-time coach in the next fortnight.
