Having spent his entire professional career abroad, Chris Herd says he feels right at home in Red & Black as he prepares to notch up his second Hyundai A-League appearance on Saturday against Central Coast Mariners.
Having spent his entire professional career abroad, Chris Herd says he feels right at home in Red & Black as he prepares to notch up his second Hyundai A-League appearance on Saturday against Central Coast Mariners.
After spending the last twelve seasons abroad in England playing football for clubs like Aston Villa, Lincoln City and Gillingham, Herd says his return back to Australia has been very easy thanks to the family environment at the Wanderers.
“It’s been great and everyone has made me feel very welcome,” said Herd.
“It’s a very family-style club.
“I’ve transitioned quite easily and everyone at the club has made that possible.”
Herd has become a regular starter for the Wanderers during the pre-season and made his debut in the Hyundai A-Leauge in the club’s 2-1 victory over Perth Glory.
“It’s always great to start with a win, it’s the first round so we think we’ve got a lot more to improve on.
“We’ve been working hard in training so hopefully we can build on the result from the first round.”
Herd, along with a number of new faces, were brought in from overseas to join the Wanderers in the 2017/18 Hyundai A-League season.
Amongst those is Spanish trio Raul Llorente, Alvaro Cejudo and Oriol Riera, who Herd says have all had a real impact within the squad.
“They’ve been brilliant (on the Spaniards), we’ve recruited very well and they’ve settled in very quickly,” he said.
“You can see their quality from Round 1 and I think they’ve got a lot more to come”.
The Wanderers will be looking to make it two wins from two on Saturday night against a Mariners outfit who will be keen to forget their 5-1 loss in the F3 Derby last week.
“They’ve got a good team and they’re a footballing team.
“We’re expecting a hard game and we have prepared ourselves the way we always do.
“We’re looking forward to it.”