Give Nix job to Tribulietx: Ifill
Paul Ifill would like a journalist to call him one day for comment on something positive about the Wellington Phoenix.
After all, the club legend and all-time leading goalscorer wants his former team to succeed more than anyone.
But happy days for New Zealand’s only professional football club have been scarce since Ifill departed in 2014, with just one trip to the finals in the four seasons since.
Yesterday was another dark day as Darije Kalezic announced to his players he would not be continuing as coach next season. That led to the club releasing an ambiguous three-line statement, before general manager David Dome fronted media to explain there would be further clarity next week on who would coach the team for the rest of the season.
It also led to another call to Ifill asking for his take on things.
‘‘It was an odd statement to be made then and then the fallout in the day and a half since ... it’s been a bit of an odd one,’’ Ifill said.
‘‘If it was me, I would want him [Kalezic] gone straight away.
‘‘If he’s not going to be in charge next year you want the next guy in. If you haven’t been playing, you want to be able to impress the new guy and earn a contract for next year. If you have been playing, you want to learn the new system that you’re potentially going to be playing next year. That’s why it makes no sense to me for him to hang around.’’
As for potential replacements, Auckland City coach Ramon Tribulietx stood out for Ifill.
His track record of guiding Auckland to seven consecutive Club World Cup appearances, including a third place in 2014, was one aspect of that, but Ifill said there was much more than just results to like about the 45-year-old Spaniard.
‘‘[Aurelio] Vidmar has been mentioned, he would be a decent appointment. Tony Popovic doesn’t have a job. There will be people who fancy the job because it’s the A-league, but you want a guy who knows the league and knows the local players, knows the Kiwis.
‘‘There should be more Kiwis on our roster that’s for sure and with Ramon you’ve got a guy who knows how to bring them through and play at the next level.
‘‘I know he’s not in a professional environment, but speaking to people who have played under him, he keeps a pretty tight ship and it is more professional than a lot of professional clubs.
‘‘I think he’s proved over a long period of time that he’s capable of stepping up.’’
The hope would be that Tribulietx could come in and not only change the on-field side of the club, but the culture as well, which has appeared to drop off in recent times.
Ifill was part of some of the best years at the club, when the culture was at its strongest.
‘‘It is a process, you can’t build a culture with one appointment. There are so many things you’ve got to do, people you’ve got to bring in, people you’ve got to coach and mentor and you’ve all got to be on the same page.’’