Skipper Alex Brosque credits Graham Arnold with revamping the culture of A-League high-flyers Sydney FC, making the club unrecognisable from the one he left at the end of the 2011.
Brosque returned to the Sky Blues this year after spells with Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan and UAE outfit Al Ain, and the striker said the influence of Arnold was exactly what was needed to bring back the glory days.
The 31-year-old striker played under Arnold during his reign as Socceroos coach but believed that further international experience, plus his successful stint coaching the Central Coast Mariners, had transformed Arnold as a coach.
"I think Arnie has changed so much," Brosque said.
"He has learned from the coaches he has worked under like [former Socceroos boss] Guus Hiddink and he leaves no detail to rest and he gives the players every opportunity to do well before they go out on the park."
Sydney have not won or appeared in a grand final since 2010 and a lack of stability in the coaching department has not helped their progress.
But Brosque said Arnold deserved huge credit for demanding improvements on and off the field when he took on the job last March.
The players now have their own lounge area at the club's training facility where a chef is employed to prepare meals suitable for professional athletes.
In previous years the squad dined on sausages and steak in a barbecue area next to change rooms so insalubrious former skipper Alessandro Del Piero insisted on his own private area when he signed from Juventus.
Arnold has also employed former club captain Terry McFlynn to be a player liaison officer, responsible for the off-field welfare of his squad including helping overseas signings settle into Sydney.
Brosque said the difference was helping on the field, as demonstrated by the team losing just one of their first nine matches of the season.
"The way he has changed the club from what it was is massive and a credit to him," he said.
"Arnie is a good man manager, he knows how to organise players and keep them all happy, which is difficult.
"It's helping getting the club to where it wants to be. The boys are very excited about the direction we are heading.
"That is shown by the results we've had this season and the passion the boys are showing on the field."
AAP
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