Rufer to take the reins at Marist
Shane Rufer is the new man at the helm of Palmerston North Marist.
Rufer will coach the team in the Central League this year, taking over from Scott Hales, who guided Marist to eighth spot last year.
Hales has taken a job working for the Wellington Phoenix academy and has also been an assistant coach with Team Wellington in the summer national league.
So the experienced Rufer stepped in this year. Rufer, 56, has been coaching for more than 20 years and played professionally in Switzerland.
The last time he coached in the Central League was when he was with Western Suburbs in Wellington in 2011. Rufer has also coached throughout New Zealand, Oceania and in Europe.
He been an assistant coach of the New Zealand under-17 team and of the now-defunct Football Kingz in the old Australian National Soccer League.
He coached Youngheart Manawatu from 2006 to 2008, the Cook Islands national team in 2011, the Youngheart youth side in 2012 and coached New Caledonia club side AS Mont Dore in 2015, who he took from fourth to eighth place and into a cup final.
Since joining Marist, Rufer has been working with squad of about 45, from the top three teams, and has been trying to get to know the players and build the team culture.
‘‘Team spirit can move mountains and we need to have really strong team spirit,’’ Rufer said. ‘‘After that we need men who take responsibility, who are disciplined and who will fight like dogs in every game.’’
Rufer has been tasked with the job of getting Marist to where they will be able to compete at nationalleague level if New Zealand Football change the national league from a franchise-based summer league to a club-based winter season.
Rufer said it is important the region is represented at the highest level of men’s, women’s and youth football.
‘‘We need to have depth and competition for places right the way through the region and also in youth football. So when our best players evolve and grow, they can do well stay here because they’re being challenged.
‘‘Whereas in the past our best players, they have to go some place else to be really challenged.’’
Rufer said they want to invest in an under-19 squad and have relationships with schools.
Most of the Marist first team should be back from last season, Rufer said.
Marist start the season with an away trip against Team Taranaki in New Plymouth on April 2 and they have already had one preseason game against North Wellington, where Rufer gave 30 players a run, with the game split into thirds.
They have a full pre-season programme with trips to New Plymouth, Wanganui, and Napier, as well as a game against Hokowhitu FC, before the season starts.