Alen Stajcic has hit back at the Australian Professional Leagues, rubbishing the assertions from head office that Perth Glory willingly agreed to midfielder Salim Khelifi quitting the club.
Cash-strapped Glory have been under the control of the APL and receivers KordaMentha since Tony Sage was stripped of the club’s licence last year.
The APL has sought to balance the books, moving Oli Bozanic and Khelifi off the wage bill over the last week.
Perth’s chief executive Anthony Radich said on Friday the club wanted to keep Khelifi but had been “instructed by the APL to accept a loan offer from another A-League club”.
But the APL released a statement to Newscorp on Saturday that said “all decisions are made collectively between Perth Glory, KordaMentha and the APL, including the sale of players”.
After his side’s 2-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night, Stajcic intimated the APL were being misleading.
Asked by AAP if the APL’s statement matched his interpretation of the saga, Stajcic said: “That’s not true.
“Not in this circumstance, not with Salim - that was a decision without instruction, consent or compensation.”
Stajcic said he didn’t know whether Khelifi would be available to face the Wanderers until less than 48 hours before kick-off.
He said Glory had trained in anticipation he would be in their starting XI.
Stajcic has indicated he won’t be able to add to his squad in January and said the hopes of strengthening his side lay in the hands of A-League commissioner Nick Garcia.
"I think the rest of the questions have to go to the APL and to Nick Garcia, he's technically, for want of a better term, the owner of our club at the moment," Stajcic said.
“So any questions around that really have to go to him. I’m just a coach at the end of the day.
“The APL are technically our owners, and Nick, whatever title they’ve given him, CEO or commissioner, he's technically in charge of our club.
“I know the receivers have been handling things day to day so really, that’s a question for them.
“I'm coaching a team and trying to put a team on the park and that's all I can be responsible and accountable for.”
