VPL: Oakleigh Cannons pair may not stay

OAKLEIGH Cannons co-coaches Peter Zois and Bill Theodoropoulos look unlikely to lead the side together in 2013.

The duo took over in round 10, taking the Cannons to the Victorian Premier League grand final last Sunday when they lost to Dandenong Thunder 2-1. The defeat was the Cannons' second straight grand final loss.

After the game, Theodoropoulos and Zois were asked about their plans for next year. Theodoropoulos said it was too soon to commit himself but wanted to remain in coaching. Zois, who is also goalkeeping coach with A-League club Melbourne Heart, didn't state his intentions but it is believed he will not be returning to the Cannons next year.

Theodoropoulos confirmed the pair had only agreed to take charge of the side until the end of this season.

"We told the club we would wait the year out and be the stand-ins if you would like to call us that," he said. "We would wait the year out and see what we want to do with the team — on my behalf there is no commitment yet.

"The committee will make its own decision."

But when pressed about whether he wanted to coach again, Theodoropoulos confirmed he was keen to remain.

"The way I'm feeling at the moment, it's a hard call," he said. "But you are in it to coach and make a career out of it; you wouldn't be in it for so long otherwise.

"With the bunch of boys we've got we have an opportunity to challenge for the next couple of years and it's a young squad."

Asked about the effect a second straight grand final loss might have on the Cannons, Zois said the disappointment of losing could hurt the club.

"Firstly the club will have a direction they want to go in financially," he said. "They will need to be looking at how successful they want to be in the league so I don't think it will have too much of a positive effect.

"You invest like any organisation and two years in a row you are up there but finish second.

"To me it's not success; it's not good enough to be second best." —Roy Ward