SYDNEY FC chairman Scott Barlow tells Tom Smithies why only winning the Asian Champions League would compensate for missing the A-League finals - and why he wants Graham Arnold to stay for years

Tom Smithies: Your A-League campaign is over but you are still very much alive in the Champions League. How much would getting to the round of 16 or beyond compensate for coming 7th in the A-League?

Scott Barlow: Reaching the last 16 of the Asian Champions League for the first time in our history would be a fantastic achievement. It’s a goal we set ourselves at the beginning of the season and we’re now close to achieving it.

We drew the toughest of all the groups with three of Asia’s biggest and most successful clubs so to be sitting top is great but we now need to go on with it, progress out of the group stage and see how far we can go. As good as our Champions League performances have been they don’t compensate for missing the A-League Finals - although winning the Champions League would.

TS: What have you made of the team’s A-League performances?

SB: The first half of the season was promising and we were sitting joint second after round 15 but the back end of the season was very disappointing. To slip from 2nd to 7th and to miss out on the finals was well below our expectations.

There were a number of factors that contributed to this but for me two stand out. Losing our captain and Australian marquee Alex Brosque to injury was a major blow.

The other was the very heavy workload of the ACL. It really does take its toll. Not just the additional games but also the travel and very short turnaround times.

It’s very difficult to compete successfully in both competitions, especially with the limited size of an A-League squad. Better scheduling is part of the solution and I’ll be raising this with the FFA.

TS: Graham Arnold is coming towards the last year of his contract. Do you want him to stay at the club long term?

SB: Yes absolutely. I’d like to think Graham will be with us for many seasons to come. In all my conversations with him we talk about building for the future and I’m as committed to that idea as ever.

Graham is already well into his planning for next season. The rules around marquee players have changed allowing clubs for the first time to have two foreign marquees and we intend to take advantage of that.

I’ve told Graham we are prepared to invest more money in another foreign marquee for next season.

TS: There is continued uncertainty over where the club will train after June 30, does this concern you?

SB: No it doesn’t. We have a fantastic training facility at Macquarie University where we’ve been for many years and we’re on the verge of committing to a new long term agreement there.

TS: At clubs such as Melbourne Victory, Brisbane, Melbourne City, there is a football operations figure working with the head coach to address long-term issues like facilities, scouting etc. Is that something you’ve considered for Sydney?

SB: At Sydney FC we have a very well resourced football department - I’d say the envy of most if not all A-League clubs. In addition we have Han Berger on our Board, arguably the most qualified and experienced technical football person in the country.

As for the position of football operations manager this is something we are considering and may introduce for next season.

TS: You’ve talked before about aiming to house all of Sydney’s admin and football areas in one space at Allianz. Given the uncertainty over what will happen to the stadium, have you considered a Plan B?

SB: I’m supportive of the government’s announcement earlier this week to undertake a major renovation of Allianz Stadium. The optimal outcome for us would have been a new stadium on the adjoining land within centennial Parklands. Given this was not achievable our strong preference was for a renovation of the existing stadium over a knock down and rebuild. The knock down option would have been disastrous for us. We would have been forced to relocate for a number of years and there really are no suitable alternate venues. Allianz Stadium will be our home long term and ultimately we’d like to have all of our administrative and football operations located there.

TS: Is the club commercially strong enough?

SB: Today we are in a stronger financial position than at any time in our history. Over the last four years we’ve achieved impressive growth and have tripled our total revenue. We’re still losing money but nowhere near the levels we were in the past.

This year we set a new membership record passing the 13,000 mark. We also have a full complement of commercial partners all of which have committed to us for next season.

Our stronger financial position has meant we’ve been able to invest in things like our junior academy.