Melbourne Victory has lurched further into crisis, with highly regarded foundation board member Richard Wilson voicing his displeasure with the club's direction shortly after resigning from his position.
Victory is currently struggling on the field, losing five of their first seven games to start the current season under new coach Grant Brebner.
As the losses continue to mount, fans have voiced their displeasure and Wilson’s resignation has been seen by many as symptomatic of the club’s gradual decline over several years.
Wilson implored the remaining board members to fully focus their attention on the team, saying trust had to be rebuild with the fanbase.
“The focus as got to be on your senior team,” he said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“Your fans and members want to see the club playing well and hopefully winning championships, last year was a really disappointing year in that regard and this year hasn’t started well after making changes across the football department.
“Our football club needs to rebuild the trust of our fans that we can deliver a product week after week that is successful, we have to be better and a bit more brave and courageous about re-establishing success.”
Wilson, who has been involved with Victory since the club’s inception, said it was a regrettable day that he was so at odds with its direction that he regarded his position as untenable.
“For me it’s a sad day,” he said.
“We began the journey in 2005, we’ve had some fantastic times and my family loves the club, the fans love the club.
“We bought Ange Postecoglou in as the head coach and that really strengthened the club’s culture and then Kevin (Muscat) took over and more success followed.
"It’s been a great journey, but obviously over the last couple of years the direction of the board and my views and thoughts have been at odds (with others) and it’s led to the announcement today that I’m leaving.”