The Old Melburnians Soccer Club is incredibly excited to announce the signing of Danny Innes as the new Head Coach for the 2023 season.

Danny joins the club from South Yarra SC’s State League 3 coaching team where he spent the 2022 season. Danny’s coaching career began at East Bentleigh where he took the Reserves team to the top of the league for the majority of the season before COVID robbed the team of a likely league title.

A move to South Yarra followed, a spell which again saw his Reserves side lead the league for many months of the season, losing only one game at home all year, but eventually being narrowly edged out of top spot in a heart-breaking finish to the season.

Danny had this to say on his appointment, “I’m absolutely delighted and honoured to be on board for next season. Having previously played at the club and still maintaining strong connections with many of the title-winning Metro 1 team, the opportunity to come back to manage the First Team squad and shape a promotion-challenging team for next season is super exciting.”

“My coaching career is something that has given me great joy as I love passing on my experience and working with players to maximise their output and achieve their potential. I never shirk from the demands I place on my players which replicate the demands I placed on myself throughout my career. So far, results have been borne out with high percentage win ratio and strong title challenging cultures established at each of my past two clubs, aligned to the fact my teams always look to play football that is pleasing on the eye.”

“A culture focused on personal and collective accountability, and a desire to be the best are the foundation blocks and everything else is built from there. I’m massively enthused at the prospect of embarking on this journey over the coming seasons, and will not rest until we are back at a level where this proud club belongs.”

Danny also enjoyed a strong playing career playing for various clubs around Melbourne including a spell at the OMSC under the legendary Danilo, a man and example whom Danny is truly honoured to be following next season.

Swinburne FC was his first port of call where he spent two years, picking up Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer awards in his final season. From there followed stints at Old Melburnians and South Yarra in State 3 before he found his spiritual home at Geelong Rangers where he amassed over 100 appearances and picked up further Player of the Year awards in successful teams.

The birth of his baby girl brought him back to Melbourne where he embraced a new cultural experience playing within a predominantly Spanish speaking dressing room at Argentinian club Melbourne City FC. The twilight of his career saw him playing out his final seasons at Elwood City FC where he was lucky enough to finish with a Reserves league title which is a treasured highlight as he closed of his career with a league title win alongside some of his closest friends.

“My playing career was typified with a total dedication to my football and a singular focus on ensuring I was in prime condition in order to try to beat my direct opponent on a Saturday afternoon and contribute to a victory. Technically there were better players than myself around the leagues and the club’s I played but the conditioning work I did away from training always gave me supreme confidence on game-day and directly contributed to some of the individual accolades I achieved. This physicality and narrow-minded desire to get everything I could out of myself encompassed training and nutrition and typified my approach. This is a principle that is stamped on my coaching philosophy.

Danny will officially kick off pre-season training in November this year before the Christmas break, with player trials officially commencing in January 2023.