Gallop upbeat about Socceroos coach post
THE Socceroos will not be left in the lurch if forced to head to the 2018 World Cup without Ange Postecoglou, Football Federation Australia boss David Gallop says.
The beleaguered national team coach has shown no sign of putting an end to the sideshow that threatens to consume the climax of Australia’s World Cup qualifying campaign before next month’s must-win intercontinental playoff against Honduras.
If the Socceroos qualify and Postecoglou decides to stand down after the final leg in Sydney on November 15, it will give the FFA seven months to find and appoint a new coach who will then need to implement his style before June’s World Cup in Russia.
But Gallop insisted there would be enough time to find a world-class replacement.
“We’ve seen in football — football is fluid,” he said. “People move. We’ll adjust to that I’m sure.
“The Socceroos don’t play again until March, so we’ve got a relatively long stretch of inactivity. That will give us an opportunity to make a decision with Ange about the future.”
The potential challenge to replace Postecoglou is similar to that faced by the FFA before the 2014 tournament when Holger Osieck was sacked following qualification. However, on that occasion, Postecoglou was announced as Osieck’s replacement eight months before the tournament, where Australia failed to secure a point in the group stages.
Gallop was equally adamant on Friday Postecoglou would not be pushed to make a decision before the Honduras tie. But he admitted that did not mean he was not scouring the market for a possible replacement.
“We’re always looking at options,” he said. “Because of the fluid nature of football you’re always considering the contingencies, the future.
“We’ve always got an eye on where we’re at both in terms of the Socceroos and our junior national teams.”
The Postecoglou circus continued last night when he appeared on the ABC’s lian Story, in which the Socceroos coach refused to answer about his direction after the Honduras playoffs.