Valic thrilled to retain the Premier League reins at South Coast United

SCU on Thursday morning revealed that Valic will hold the reins once again in 2024, where he will be assisted by experienced mentor Bob Gorgievski.

Valic is the IPL's longest-serving head coach, having been in the position since 2016.

United's struggles in recent years has been well documented, with the side fortunate to avoid being demoted to District League in 2020, when promotion/relegation was taken off the table due to the competition being impacted by COVID.

After the following season was cancelled early, SCU showed signs of improvement in 2022, with the team finishing with four wins. They increased that victory tally to six this year, highlighted by a shock 2-1 win over league champions Albion Park.

It was encouraging signs for Valic, who never had thoughts of leaving SCU this off-season.

"Everyone knows that it's the club that I've grown up around and been involved with for basically my entire senior career. And given that next year is the club's 40^th anniversary, I really wanted to come back and have a big season with the club," Valic told the Mercury.

"Last year, I think we definitely had an improved season upon previous seasons. And given that we've been able to maintain the majority of our squad, things are really looking up for next season. If we can continue to build and improve, we're looking at doing our best to finish as high up the table as we can.

"As well as maintaining most of our squad, one signing that we have made is Mark Moric. He was playing up in NPL last season and he has a really good resume.

"If he can show his true ability, he will be a top player in this league."