Durante hopes for quick call on Phoenix coach
Swift action on a new Wellington Phoenix coach is needed if they are to avoid the mistakes of this campaign.
The club has been searching for a head coach since Darije Kalezic departed on March 8 after overseeing the worst 21-game start to a Phoenix season in their 11-year history.
Kalezic had a lot of excuses for why things went so horribly wrong, often publicly criticising his players, saying they were not up to playing in the A-League. He was able to bring in 11 of his own players, and sent four packing.
Phoenix captain Andrew Durante said with just nine players on the books for next season there was a lot of potential for a new coach to shape the squad.
‘‘There are 14, maybe 15, players off contract. There are a lot I’m sure he’ll want to keep, but there are a lot he might see as not needed. We really need to give the coach the opportunity to pick the players he wants to make sure there are minimal excuses come the end of next season.’’
There was sure to be a lot of movement of players around the league in the off-season, given there were more players coming off contract than signed for next season in the A-League.
To capitalise on that, the Phoenix would need to be making moves to sign players already, but Durante said it was tricky when they don’t have a coach.
‘‘The coach hopefully can get sorted sooner rather than later so he can start signing or re-signing players.
‘‘We’re kind of in that same position as last year where the club couldn’t really talk to players because there was no coach and they didn’t want to sign players until they had a coach.
‘‘Hopefully it gets sorted soon because there are a lot of players that want to know their future, whether it’s here or elsewhere.’’
One of those players was Durante himself. He has been in talks with the club about a contract extension, but said it was unlikely to happen before a new coach was signed.
Who might be the next coach remained up in the air, with the club in talks with a few coaches. Aurelio Vidmar was approached early on, but has been ruled out for a number of reasons, including not being able to agree about how the club would be run.
Former Newcastle Jets coach Scott Miller is an ambitious young Australian who knows the league, but has also been linked to the Central Coast Mariners job. Former New Zealand Football technical director Rob Sherman has been linked to the job, and has a pro licence, which is a requirement for a foreign A-League coach.
Current interim head coach Chris Greenacre cannot do the top job on a permanent basis given he does not have a pro licence. Auckland City coach Ramon Tribulietx was in the same boat.