Melbourne Knights head coach Ivan Franjić resigned from his role late on Monday night, in a shock fallout to the NPL Victoria club’s disappointing loss at home to sister club Dandenong City in the ‘Croatian Derby’ on the weekend.
The Knights went down to Dandenong City 0-2 in Round 12 of the NPL Victoria competition at Tomsett Stadium on Sunday – the Knights’ ninth loss of the season.
The club finds itself in a precarious fourth last position and with the bottom three getting relegated at season’s end, the warning bells have well and truly sounded at the former NSL dual championship winning club.
According to an official press release issued late on Monday night, (https://www.melbourneknights.com.au/news/club-news/ivan-franjic-resigns-as-head-coach-of-the-melbourne-knights/) the Melbourne Knights confirmed that the club’s Board had accepted the Club Legend’s resignation, effective immediately.
“Appointed midway through the 2024 season following the departure of Ben Surrey, Ivan led the team to a strong finish, narrowly missing out on a top-six finals berth by just two points,” stated the press release by the Knights.
Knights thank outgoing coach
The statement went on to say that with a full pre-season and the opportunity to build his own squad, both Franjić and the Club had high hopes of building on that momentum in 2025.
“However, a string of injuries – both long term and short term – dating back to the middle of pre-season severely disrupted squad consistency and performance.
“In light of these challenges, Ivan has made the difficult decision to step down as head coach of the Knights,” continued the statement by the Knights.
“The Club sincerely thanks Ivan for his service and commitment, and while his time as Head Coach comes to an end, we look forward to seeing him play an ongoing role in the Club’s future.”
Franjić’s assistant, Josip Lončarić, has also stepped down from his duties with the senior team.
“However, he (Lončarić) will continue in his role as the club’s Director of Football, where he has made significant strides in developing the Club’s junior program,” concluded the Melbourne Knights’ press statement.
A former Socceroo and A League champion with Brisbane Roar, Franjić played junior football at the Knights, debuted in the senior team in 2007, before embarking on an illustrious playing career which ended last year, back where it all started – at Somers Street.
He commenced his coaching career with the Sunshine based club towards the end of last season.
The Knight’s first match without Franjić at the helm will be against second last placed Altona Magic in a ‘must win’ fixture this coming Saturday night at Paisley Park in Altona.
It was unclear at time of publishing this article who was going to be Franjić’s replacement in the Knights’ hot seat.
