Acevksi, who has coached over 300 games in Victorian domestic football, took Preston from the fourth tier of Australian football to the inaugural national second tier competition in the space of just eight years.
“One of the best football people you will ever meet,” says Petkovski. “He is the whole package. He will bring success on and off the field.
“There aren’t enough words to do the man justice.
“When he came to Preston, he brought a culture and environment that we didn’t have. He made sure every player knew what to do to become a Club man as well as a team player. He ensured every player respected the fans and the jersey they wore.”
After 118 games in charge of Hume City, Acevski decided to return to his boyhood club in 2017 and helped turn around the fortunes of one of Australia’s most iconic footballing brands.
He went to B.T. Connor Reserve at a time when the Lions were struggling financially, crowds were at an all time low and results on the field were a far cry from the heady days of the NSL.
When he took over as coach, the Lions were languishing in State League One, the third tier of Victorian football. A far cry from the days of competing with Australia’s best in the NSL.
Acevski oversaw 184 games at Preston, where he achieved three promotions and won two championships.
He was more than just a coach, literally getting his hands dirty to help rebuild the club. From volunteering around the Club’s facilities, to marketing the Club across Victoria, Acevski was involved in all of it.
Fast forward eight years and Preston were back in the big time as a founding member of FA’s Australian Championship. The Lions have huge crowds and a fan base that is the envy of Australian football, a venue that is among the best in the land, and are powering towards a future that many could only dream of a decade ago.
“No one at Preston dared to dream of where we ended up,” explains Petkovski. “But with people like Louie around, there was always hope, we could actually make our dreams become a reality. The results speak for themselves.
“If the Western Sydney Wanderers want to turn around their club culture and find a man who knows how to bring everyone together, from the Board to the players to the fans, Louie is your man.”
Remarkably, Acevski either won or drew 73% of his games, a record few can match in the brutal world of Victorian football. In their first season back in the Victorian top tier in 2025, after well over a decade away, Preston made the finals.
Since Tony Popovic left in 2017, the Wanderers have searched far and wide for a coach who can galvanise an entire club. They have looked overseas, they have searched within Australia. High profile names have come and gone.
Josep Gombau, Markus Babbel, Jean-Paul de Marigny, Carl Robinson, Marko Rudan and Alen Stajcic all came with big reputations and big profiles. Sadly none of them have worked out.
It seems logical that someone new and fresh to the A-League scene, someone who knows Australian football intrinsically, someone who knows how to take a club from rock bottom to the top, and someone who knows how to win trophies would be the perfect candidate.
Acevski ticks all of those boxes.
It would also be refreshing to see someone with plenty of experience in the lower tiers of Australian football, who has had plenty of success developing players and creating winning environments, be rewarded for their hard work. It would be almost an organic like coaching appointment.
“The rinse and repeat of the A-Leagues means it doesn’t evolve. It stays the same or goes backwards,” says Petkovski. “Bringing in someone new like Louie, who has well and truly earned his keep, will really shake things up. Give the A-League itself something fresh and new.
“Wanderers fans deserve a club that they can be proud of. Louie would deliver that in spades.
“It would be so good to see someone who has developed their crafts through the lower tiers of Australian football, actually get rewarded for all their hard work.”
Veteran coach Gary Van Egmond has been appointed as interim coach at Wanderland in a temporary capacity until the end of the 2025-26 season. The Wanderers hierarchy are expected again to look far and wide for a permanent arrangement. Looking south of the border may not be a bad idea.
