Lino is the man for Launceston United

Photo:  Lino Sciulli in his Launceston Juventus days. [PlessPix] 

Lino Sciulli, 61, has one of the more difficult jobs in the NPL Tasmania competition.

He is in his second year as coach of Launceston United, who have at times been the whipping boys of the league.

He has coached in the NPL for nine years so is up to the challenge.

I interviewed Lino this week about coaching at Launceston United.

Walter Pless:  The team has had a better start to the season than last year. Can you build on that momentum?

Lino Sciulli: Yes and no.  We have had some heavy defeats after some good results and have had a couple of close ones after that but we really need to be in games at half time.

WP:  What are your aims this season?

LS:  To be in games for the entirety and have some young people develop.

WP:  What are the positives about your team and what are the negatives?

LS:  The positives are that we play some really good football at times and also defend quite well.  The negatives are that we don't sustain that and make silly mistakes and do not concentrate long enough.

WP:  How would you describe your coaching philosophy and style?

LS:  I love to move the ball quickly and play good football, but I always love to have a really well structured defence that is no nonsense unit.

WP:  How would you sum up the State League?

LS:  I struggle with the rules outlayed to us from FFA.  We are a small state and to have the same setup as the  mainland is very difficult.  I do not like the squad of 23 till halfway and then change it.  We have no loyalty any more as players including imports can go.  I would prefer that when the signature is on paper it has to be for a season.  Another one I struggle with is the no import keeper.  The state does not have too many up and coming ready to go NPL keepers and few to teach them, also juniors.

WP:  Are you in favour of a promotion and relegation system?

LS:  No.  There are too many clubs that cannot sustain the expense or the rigors of NPL and it could ruin clubs.  The ones in the competition are not all doing it easy.

WP:  What difficulties does your club face under the present system?

LS:  Filling all teams mainly when NPL and NPL 21s are in Hobart and Champ and Champ1 are down the coast.

WP:  Can the club regain the status and success of the 1960s when it represented Tasmania in the Australian Cup?

LS:  There are plenty of good people and a lot of hard work being done to ensure the success of the club but the issue is that developing young people is slow and keeping people in the game is harder now with other commitments.