Mark Robertson says farewell

After the best part of a decade leading Hakoah Sydney City East FC from strength to strength, Mark “Robbo” Robertson is bidding farewell as head coach to pursue a growing work career in the UK.

When Hakoah Sydney City East FC began its journey to once again become a competitive force in football in 2011, its success hinged on bringing in a head coach that was charismatic, competitive and lived and breathed football.

Robertson has these attributes on all fronts, and along with assistant coach Hayden Foxe, Hakoah Sydney City East FC won the Grand Final and missed out on promotion by the slimmest of margins in their maiden season.

Following this Hakoah Sydney City East FC won promotion in every year it was offered, and went on an unprecedented run from the fourth tier to the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s.

However, it is not just his contribution to the success of the club at senior level in which Robertson has left an indelible mark, he has also been a huge influence on every young man that has come through the ranks at Hakoah Sydney City East FC .

Robertson has been a presence at every junior match he could attend, and this approach is one of the key reasons behind the unique culture and atmosphere at Hakoah Sydney City East FC where boys of all ages join the senior team in walking onto the pitch and singing the team song.

Looking ahead to the future, the club is very excited to announce the appointment of Gavin “Guv” Rae as the new head coach for 2017.

Rae came to Sydney from a two-decade professional career in the UK which included playing for Scotland, captaining Glasgow Rangers and playing in an FA Cup Final.

Despite his glittering career, Rae was the hardest working man in the team as soon as he joined Hakoah Sydney City East FC in 2014, and has been an integral part of the club since.

This is not Rae’s first foray into coaching, having won promotion to the Scottish Premier League with Dundee as player/coach in 2013 and also working as Robertson’s assistant coach at Hakoah Sydney City East FC.

Rae has an exciting vision for 2017, and the club look forward to seeing him continue to drive the club’s success in the coming years.

In addition, the club welcome new U20s coaches for the 2017 season.

Paul Hubbard coached the Sutherland Sharks 18s to Grand Final success in 2014, and six players in that squad went on to play in the Hyundai A-League National Youth League and three to represent Australia Under 19s, showing the focus on development.

Paul is an FFA ‘A’ licensed coach, with UEFA level 3 diploma, UEFA ‘B’ licence and FA Youth modules 1, 2 & 3, as well as having his NSCAA national diploma from USA. 

His assistant Andy Norman played under the likes of Harry Redknapp and Tony Pulis at AFC Bournemouth’s Youth Academy, before embarking on his coaching career with Paul.

The club are very excited to see what these two men can do in regards to both 2017 success as well as player development.  

-Hakoah Sydney City East Press Release