Phoenix on rise for Rudan
Mark Rudan has led the Phoenix to fifth in the A-League. Phillip Rollo profiles the nononsense coach ahead of their away clash with Melbourne Victory tonight.
The most touching moment of Mark Rudan’s tenure as Wellington Phoenix coach came at the very beginning of their current eight-game unbeaten run, when he received a text message from his eldest son congratulating him for their performance in a 1-1 draw with Perth Glory.
Despite losing their previous three games, the Phoenix took it to the A-League leaders throughout the 90 minutes. They were unlucky not to win — a controversial decision from the Video Assistant Referee leading to Ryan Lowry’s sending off before the Glory struck late to snatch a point.
It was the turning point in the Phoenix’s season and Rudan’s son wanted to let his father know he was proud of him for making it happen.
‘‘That meant more to me than anything. It was huge,’’ Rudan said.
‘‘When we did lose those three games, my boys, they go to school and they’ve got mates and they know their father is head coach of Wellington Phoenix. I can’t have Dad not doing well because it doesn’t just affect me, it affects them as well, and they want to see Dad doing really well. It’s not the main driving force, because I’m really driven anyway, but I certainly want to make my family proud and my kids proud of me.’’
Rudan, who ended a 17-year playing career to become a coach in 2011, may live and breathe football, but there is one thing more important to him than sport — and that is his family. Which is why it is so difficult for the 43-year-old Australian to be living in Wellington without them.
‘‘In hindsight if I knew it was going to be this hard, I wouldn’t have taken it,’’ he said.
Rudan’s wife Sylvia and their two children Luka, 15, and Adam, 12, live in Sydney. They see him at away games and make trips to Wellington where possible. He also flies back when a busy schedule allows.
‘‘When I buy into something you get me 100 per-cent and my family, although they are living over there, they have bought right into the Phoenix and Wellington. They keep sending me little Kiwi things, which is really cute. I can’t thank them enough for their support. They’re the most important thing in my life.
‘‘I don’t normally talk about the personal stuff because it is something that is dear to my heart and it’s a huge sacrifice that my family have made and it’s not easy — if anything it’s still getting harder. We have to make a big decision [to make] whether the family comes over and starts school.
‘‘There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t see, but it’s my job to front up and be the guy that leads this team, my coaching staff and the whole organisation. This is what I’ve come here to do and I want to see that through, but it’s not easy. We’re still trying to work a way where everyone is happy, because everyone is not happy right now. My kids miss me and I miss them.’’
Rudan was told by numerous people not to take the job at the Phoenix, when he was first offered it by chairman Rob Morrison last May.
‘‘They called me an idiot,’’ he said. ‘‘When I signed on I was getting a lot of well wishes, but also a lot of ‘not sure why, I told you not to take this’.’’
His family urged Rudan to take the opportunity, knowing the chance to coach in the A-League after four and a bit seasons with Sydney United in Australia’s second-tier National Premier League was simply too good to turn down.
‘‘The kids were probably the few that said ‘go do this Dad, this is your chance, take this one’ and my wife was the same. But fast forward and it’s actually been a lot harder because time goes and every sleepless night you are thinking about your job and you want be with your family and it’s not easy. I’ve got to find a solution there.’’
In the first 13 games of Rudan’s tenure, the Phoenix have already collected more points (22) than they did during the entire 2017-18 campaign. They have extended their unbeaten streak to a club record of eight games and sit well placed inside the top-six playoffs berths, 10 points clear of seventh.
Through savvy recruitment and infectious self-confidence, Rudan has converted the doubters. The Phoenix attracted a season-high crowd of 10,186 to their most recent home match, against the Central Coast Mariners, and even those who criticised his decision to take the job are now jumping on the bandwagon.
‘‘That’s life and that’s sport, it goes in roundabouts and it’s a rollercoaster. There was a lot of negativity earlier in the piece when we lost three in a row, but that was after we started well and here we are today. They’re all jumping on the bandwagon and good on them. I did a couple of interviews just the other day where they said ‘I thought you were really poor, couldn’t coach’ and all that sort of stuff and now they’re congratulating me.’’
He has achieved his early success by relying on a core of Kiwi players, with rising stars Sarpreet Singh and Liberato Cacace breaking through as a regulars in the starting XI, alongside the unheralded Tom Doyle, Alex Rufer and Louis Fenton.
‘‘I’ve worked hard with all my players, but I’m extremely proud of players like Louis Fenton, who have been kicked from pillar to post. Playing for Melbourne Knights in the NPL, I’ve got friends down there and they said ‘he’s finished Mark, he’s finished’. What I saw in pre-season was a kid who had been smashed around like a pinball machine, but he’s fronting up every day. The medical staff said they didn’t know how long he’d last, he was one kick away from injury because of his history, but he should be extremely proud of himself. That tells you everything about Louis Fenton the person, not the player but the person.
‘‘Alex Rufer flew back from Switzerland for another crack and people question my process [asking players to trial], but he’s a player who has shown complete dedication to the cause. Did I think he was going to be as important to us as he is now? Probably not, I’m not going to lie, but again credit to Alex. His habits, his professionalism and the way he conducts himself has completely changed, and I hear that a lot about these guys.
‘‘If you want to buy into this culture and you want to be successful, and you want to improve, then these are the standards that are required, and Tom Doyle is another one.
‘‘Libby Cacace has played almost every game. Sarpreet is another one. Not many kids like that get an opportunity in the A-League to play week in, week out. And it’s not like we are a weak team where it’s easy to throw the young boys in like last year. It’s easy when there’s nothing to play for and there’s no pressure. But it’s different when it’s the start of the season, you have a lot to play for and it’s a completely different situation all together.’’
With Mitch Nichols and Reuben Way departing the club, the Phoenix will be required to sign at least one more player before the January transfer window closes. Without going into much detail, Rudan said he was on the lookout for a replacement who could operate in the ‘‘defensive to midfield area’’. Although he did not rule out signing another New Zealand player, he said any addition must be A-League ready.
‘‘This time of the season you need, I believe, someone who is ready-made or has experienced A-League football. Let’s say if we were gearing towards finals football then that’s a different beast altogether, and you’ve got to look at a whole range of things. I don’t think it’d be fair to throw a young kid who is a bit vulnerable in the deep end there.’’
The Phoenix are away to the second-placed Melbourne Victory tonight, with Rufer and Mandi back from suspension.
‘‘They’re all jumping on the bandwagon and good on them.’’