Bojic doesn't regret jumping ship - Herald Sun

New Sydney FC signing Pedj Bojic. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: The Daily Telegraph

FULLBACK Pedj Bojic insists he had qualms about quitting the champions for a team that last season didn't even make the finals, after completing his first training session as a Sydney FC player.

The 29-year-old finally was confirmed on Wednesday after a drawn-out saga prompted by his desire to end five years of commuting daily to Gosford from his Sydney home.

His was one of what has become a flood of departures from the Mariners, but Bojic said he was ready for a new chapter after five years.

"That was never an issue for me, I'll always have the memories of winning the title with the Mariners but now I have a new challenge at Sydney," Bojic said.

"It seems like there's a fresh start generally at the club now, I'm not the only new face and there's anew look to the coaching staff too.

"Frank told us that he wants a change of philosophy at the club - he wants to play football, he wants discipline, and a few things to change from last year."

Bojic joked that he'd had time on his hands at Sydney's first day of pre-season yesterday thanks to a 15-minute commute, compared with the two hours each way he was previously spending on the F3.

Rather more seriously, he acknowledged the scale of improvement Sydney need after a finish of seventh despite the huge investment in Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero.

"Making the play-offs is clearly the first aim, but we have to view ourselves as a top two side ultimately simply because of the stature of the club.

"That has to be the target, and I think the coaching staff have embraced that."

Defender Tiago Calvano also signed a deal with Sydney after coming in as an injury replacement, while Matt Jurman, Marc Warren and Nick Carle will also be new faces at the club.

"I'm very happy to be returning to play for Sydney FC," said Tiago. "I'm very much looking forward to the start of the season and think we can achieve a lot this year."