Sean Boxshall has a passion for soccer and a passion for Bendigo.
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The new Bendigo City FC senior coach wants to make his hometown a soccer destination for players and coaches.
"It's an honour. I love football and I love football in Bendigo,'' Boxshall said of his coaching appointment.
"I want to be part of taking football in Bendigo to the next step and Bendigo City is on the right trajectory to make that happen.
"I want to make it enticing for Bendigo footballers to play for Bendigo."
A former Bendigo Amateur Soccer League championship winner as a player with Strathdale and Eaglehawk, Boxshall takes over the reins of the senior program from Greg Thomas.
Boxshall was an assistant coach to Thomas as the club just fell short of earning promotion from State League Five to State League Four.
"What Thommo built at Bendigo City is pretty exceptional,'' Boxshall said of Thomas.
"Moving forward I want to do him justice for what he did with the club."
After two narrow misses on the pomorion front, Boxshall said Bendigo City was well-placed to go an extra step in 2024.
"Local BASL teams have played against State League teams previously, and I did myself as a player, and we probably thought it was easier than what it really is,'' Boxshall said.
"We probably played those State League teams in pre-season, but when it comes to the actual season these State League teams are very competitive.
"They're metro-based teams that have a larger talent pool and more money behind them. It's a very strong competition.
"We're not far away. We had one or two games that cost us promotion last season.
"We're on the right path and nothing really changes from the past two years. The objective is still the same and we want to get promoted.
"With two years of experience at this level under our belt, I think we're in a great position to earn promotion next season."
Bendigo City's under-18 program is thriving and that group is the future of the senior club.
"We have lots of depth at the club and give it another 12 to 24 months and our talent pool will be huge,'' Boxshall said.
"There's going to be competition for spots, which is what we want.
"We want it to be hard for players to earn those spots in senior football."
Boxshall's first pre-season in charge will be built around defence.
"Our style won't change dramatically, we probably just need to tighten up at the back a little bit,'' he said.
"We leaked a few goals at times last season which cost us. I work on the philosophy that one goal is enough to win the game.
"If you don't let the other team score then you only need one goal to win the game."
