Kalezic immune to pressure
Wellington Phoenix coach Darije Kalezic insists his side’s win over Perth Glory did not relieve any pressure on his shoulders.
But that wasn’t because there was still the pressure of being last on the A-League ladder due to the Central Coast Mariners’ draw with Adelaide United late on Saturday night.
Rather, he said he’s just not feeling any pressure at all, and hasn’t done since the start of the season.
It was a strange assertion to make given he has overseen just four wins in 20 matches this season, with his lengthy reasoning also perplexing some.
‘‘I told you in the beginning I don’t get the pressure because I have to settle down something here.
‘‘After a couple of months working here in the A-League I exactly know everything how good my players are, how good my team is, how our position as Wellington Phoenix FC is in the A-League. I know exactly the level of football in New Zealand, I know exactly how the level of the New Zealand players are, I know exactly how much talent we have in New Zealand, I know exactly how good Kiwis are in comparing with the A-League players in Australia, I know exactly everything.
‘‘So, because I know that exactly, I can never feel the pressure.’’
To say there was no pressure at all was quite the claim to make given rumblings about his future at the club have grown louder in the weeks leading up to the 2-1 win at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night thanks to consecutive 4-0 road losses.
Kalezic was understood to have a clause in his contract which says he can be sacked if the team do not make the top six this season. At 11 points behind the sixth-placed Western Sydney Wanderers with seven games to go, it remains a mathematical possibility, but in reality it’s an impossible task.
Kalezic has said about as much himself, and also said it did not take a football expert to work out what had gone wrong.
‘‘You don’t have to be a scientist to analyse this season. You don’t have to be a scientist to find out how we lost the games.s.
‘‘You don’t have to have experience in football to find that out. People who cannot find that out, they don’t deserve to work in football. For me, the conclusion is very simple.’’