Liavas is in the Frame

In an era when many footballers change clubs regularly, Liavas has continued to ply his trade with the Jensen Park-based side.
And, it must be said, he has been rewarded with success because in recent years Bankstown City have been a real power house of the TeleChoice Premier League.
By day he works as a picture framer and, like all other players in the TeleChoice Premier League, he is able to combine a career in the workforce with a career in football.
Liavas missed Bankstown?s controversial draw with A.P.I.A. Leichhardt in Round 2 because of suspension, but he was back for last weekend?s clash with Sydney United in Round 3 which ended in a scoreless draw.
After the Lambert Park encounter he was somewhat philosophical about the standard of play from both sides.
?It was not the best of games because we were reduced to ten men and then to nine,? he said.
?Even when we did have a full quota of players it wasn?t that convincing at all as a match.?
Liavas, nevertheless, is confident that Bankstown, under the guidance of Peter Tsekenis as coach and Peter Papoythis as his assistant, will do well in the TeleChoice Premier League despite losing some players in the off season.
New buys should ensure that the club?s slow start in 2008 is a mere abhorration on the continued road to success.
?We lost a few players, but we have a few excellent players coming into the team such as Paul Harries, James Monie and Tayfum Devrimol,? he said.
?We are hopeful of finishing in the top five at the end of the season because we know we are a good team.
?We?ve never started this poorly before, but we are training hard and we just need to get through this difficult patch.?
-By Joe Russo