Ex-Sheffield United star takes aim after proving his Grand Final point
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Despite possessing the competition’s smallest budget, the Mariners reached June 3rd’s showpiece in Sydney following Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Carl Veart’s side at the Industree Group Stadium - a result which saw them progress 4-1 on aggregate.
Montgomery, who has handed more minutes to homegrown players than any other head coach Down Under, also guided the Mariners to a comprehensive win over Veart’s men on the final weekend of the regular season.
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Speaking after watching his squad set up a meeting with Melbourne City, Montgomery confirmed: “We wanted revenge because there’s been a lot of talk coming out of Adelaide for the last couple of weeks. There’s a couple of ways to lose. You can lose with dignity and accept you got beat by the better team or you can make excuses. And there were a lot of excuses over the last couple of weeks.”
“I kept quiet,” added Montgomery, who made nearly 400 appearances for United before joining the Mariners just over a decade ago. “We kept quiet. I said to the boys to let their football do the talking.”
Montgomery’s appointment at the beginning of the previous campaign has had a transformative effect upon the Mariners, with the 41-year-old drawing heavily upon graduates of their youth programme having previously worked in an academy role. Veart also represented United during his own playing career. But Montgomery’s presence in the Mariners’ dug-out has led to an explosion of interest in their fortunes among United’s support base, who recently heard him invite his ex-club to Australia for a friendly.
“Even going into tonight people still doubted us,” Montgomery said “I find it actually a little bit strange - but that's football. For everybody tonight, for the fans and the community, I told the boys before the game that they've not only galvanised a club but a community and a region too.”