Olympic announced Bailey's signing on Monday following the departure of Manny Mavridis, who leaves before an official game kicked off, after taking over from previous coach George Antoniou last October. Antoniou's side led the league in 2021 before the season was cut short due to COVID.

However, Bailey arrives at the club boasting an impressive resume. He won two league titles and a grand final during a successful stint at Bulli, before making a shock exit ahead of the 2019 Bampton Cup final.

After some time away from the league, Bailey is excited about his next chapter.

"It's an exciting opportunity and one that I'm really looking forward to. I've been out of Illawarra Premier League for probably a season-and-a-half now, after having some successful years at Bulli. It takes a lot of effort to compete and be successful, so that break has refreshed me," he said.

"The opportunity came up last week and, by Sunday, I had discussed it with my family and thought about how I could fit it into my schedule, and accepted the role. So it was a whirlwind couple of days."

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Since his Bulli stint, Bailey has remained involved in football. He returned to the Wollongong Wolves, a club that he once captained, to coach in the Skills Acquisition Program, which is a role that he's enjoyed.

"I've got the under 10s this year, my son is part of my team. So I stepped away from Bulli and took that on, and it's still reasonably demanding. It's three nights a week and a game in Sydney every second week," Bailey said.

"But it's enjoyable giving back to the Wolves, because I obviously played there and captained there when I finished my (playing) career."

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However, Bailey is taking little time transitioning into his Olympic commitments. The IPL kicks off in less than four weeks and the new head coach led his first training session on Tuesday night.

It's been a busy few weeks for the club, who have been busy actively re-signing plenty of youth and experienced talent, including Chris Price, Mark Every, Jason Pappas, Hikaru Kawasakiya, Jordan Kizi and Tori Musumeci.

"The excitement of taking on a head coaching role was a factor for me coming here, but looking at the quality, experience and youth in this side, it's a really interesting opportunity We're certainly going to set ourselves high aspirations and high objectives for this year based purely on the quality of this group," Bailey said.

"I think I've accepted all aspects of the role. I think they're a club that have certainly achieved a lot over a long period of time and the expectations are there. But I think the approach I'm taking, and how I'm planning to come into the role, I'm looking forward to embracing that and working closely with the board and the squad around defining what our season will look like.

"But the aspirations for this group are certainly going to be very high."

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