Giving women a sporting chance
Those wishing to sit at the altar while Mark Rudan preaches best get comfortable – this could take a while.
The Wellington Phoenix coach turned a routine player announcement press conference yesterday into a sermon about all things Phoenix, football and life.
It was awe-inspiring stuff as for 27 near-breathless minutes the Australian spoke passionately on a number of topics, often taking himself down different tangents by asking and answering his own questions.
He spoke of wanting his players to have no regrets, of being an adaptable coach, of Australians’ negative perception of the Phoenix, of the challenge in taking his first A-League gig, of having a ‘‘stoush’’ with Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat at a pre-season game last weekend, of wanting to sign three or four more players before the season starts on October 21, of keeping money in the bank to sign more players in January.
And then he took a breath and was finished.
The net gain of it all was Rudan again showing his drive to change the discourse around the club.
He said his players had all bought into his way of thinking, making what was a challenging job a little bit easier.
‘‘The players now are doing my job for me, where they’re telling people ‘that’s not what we’re about’. Ship up or shape out.
‘‘They’re helping that player now towards teaching that player that we don’t take shortcuts, so my job is easy now.’’
Rudan was thrown a question about the lack of Kiwis coming into the club, with only resignings Louis Fenton and Alex Rufer coming back, while firstteamers Matthew Ridenton and Michael McGlinchey, as well as youngsters James McGarry, Logan Rogerson and Keegan Smith, have all departed.
It was a pertinent question given the new signing sitting beside him, 23-year-old attacking midfielder Max Burgess, was Australian.
He initially said he had said all he wanted to say on trying to bring Kiwis in (at least two Kiwi players have refused trials with the Phoenix), but then spoke for almost three minutes about those difficulties.
That’s where having no regrets came into his mind.
‘‘I can’t force people to come here. It’s their life, they choose to do it how they want.
‘‘The thing about life is, sometimes you only get one opportunity, and that opportunity might not come again.
‘‘One thing I always say to my players is no regrets. Don’t look back and think you had that opportunity and didn’t take it and here I am five years on still doing the same thing.’’
‘‘Maybe you’re happy in what you’re doing.
‘‘That’s great, stick to that path. But if you really want to know more about yourself, if you really want to test your boundaries, get out of your comfort zone. That’s how I see life anyway.’’
Burgess did take his opportunity, immediately impressing Rudan when he came into their Sydney camp at the end of September, forming an instant onfield chemistry with Roy Krishna, according to Rudan.
Rudan described him as the best No 10 (attacking midfielder) in Australia at the second-tier, National Premier League level, saying they beat out interest from Adelaide United to sign him.
Where he would fit into the Phoenix system was up in the air because Rudan does not plan to play in the same style week-in, week-out.
He does not want to make the mistake of other newbie A-League coaches in being too rigid in his football philosophy.
‘‘I’ve spoken to people like [former Central Coast Mariners coach] Paul Okon, who had a certain philosophy in the A-League and if he could’ve, he would have done things differently.
‘‘That’s where we’re at. I’m not at the development phase, yes I develop and teach my players, but I’m at the performance phase. I’m under no illusions about the most important thing: results.’’