The Ufuk Talay era at Western Sydney has begun with a goalless derby draw -- but the new Wanderers coach is adamant the former A-League Men heavyweights have turned the corner after last season's horror season.
Talay has been tasked with reinvigorating the Wanderers, who slumped to their maiden wooden spoon after Alen Stajcic was sacked in January.
Stajcic paid the price for a poor patch of results which netted just three wins and a league-low 10 goals from 13 matches.
Interim boss Gary van Egmond couldn't save the Wanderers either, with the club winning just two of their 11 games en route to a last-placed finish in front of diminishing crowds.
A goalless draw with Sydney FC won't account for much on the table, but Talay takes heart from not being blown out of the water by last season's grand finalists.
And while Friday night's season-opener was a Sky Blues' home game, the Wanderers had a healthy contingent of supporters among the 30,103-strong crowd at Allianz Stadium.
"You can see the boys have a great mentality," Talay said.
"What we try to do is make sure the brand of football represents our region and our people that support us.
"The boys show that they are hard-working. They will fight for everything. They will scrap for everything."
The first coach to switch allegiances between the Sydney teams, Talay's first move as Wanderers boss was recruiting Mal Impiombato as the club's sporting director.
Former Western United football general manager Impiombato has already had a palpable effect on the Wanderers, with many players like star Dylan Scicluna attesting to the shift in culture.
The club had also finished last in the A-League Women.
"Bringing in Mal was a very important cog in that piece as well, having a football director to oversee things, but also bringing the people together," Talay said.
"With the women's side, yesterday we had lunch together, all together with all the admin staff.
"It's very important that we play different roles, but we all have the same goal at the end of the day.
"We want to take everyone on a journey, and if we have success, it's not because of one individual. It's because of the collective."
Talay was unfazed by the hostile reception at his former Allianz Stadium home, with Sydney's active supporters' group holding a banner which read "WSW: Home of Sydney's rejects".
"Well, I've been called plenty of things, mate, so that was quite nice," Talay said.
