2007 Senior Coach Appointed

Doncaster Rovers Soccer Club has pulled off a recruiting coup with the senior coaching appointment of highly regarded soccer identity Josip Biskic.

Biskic's unparalleled playing experience includes several hundred games played at the highest level in the former Yugoslavia, two seasons at Selangor in Malaysia and a remarkable 14 seasons with the Melbourne Knights in the National Soccer League (NSL).

Biskic is still considered a legend at the Knights, where he played alongside such players as Mark Viduka and Danny Tiatto. Biskic captained Viduka and the Knights to consecutive minor premierships in an amazing run from 1990-94 , was crowned NSL player of the year in 1991 and played in three NSL grand finals culminating in back to back premierships in 1995 and 96.

Biskic also had several stints as coach of the Knights, where he made his name as a player, and coached Fawkner to the summit of the premier league in 2002.

Fawkner Soccer Club president Santo Rizza said Biskic was "a very good coach" during his time at the Blues.

"As a coach, the first thing you have to learn is to work with the players, and he is a very disciplined coach, and a very good trainer," Mr Rizza said.

Tony Persoglia from Football Federation Victoria said the appointment of Biskic at second division Doncaster was a highly ambitious move, showing the club "want to get into the premier league at some stage".

Mr Persoglia said Biskic was undoubtedly a "big name" that would attract talent to Doncaster.

"Joe Biskic is a well-credentialed player, with close to 25 years as a first team regular in a number of different competitions, and he brings a lot of those experiences to coaching," Mr Persoglia said.

"Players in the Victorian premier league would be prepared to take the drop to ensure they were playing under Biskic."

Mr Biskic said he would not recruit extensively from outside the club, but would instead concentrate on developing the talent already at Doncaster.

"It is the plan of the club to get some guys from the juniors into the first team," he said.

"As a coach I give myself a target and achieve as much as I can.

"Whether it's promotion this year or not, as long as we move forward and see what we can build, that is the most important thing."

Biskic said pre-season training would commence in January and he would assess the playing squad from there.