Fears Phoenix stars could follow Rudan
Wellington Phoenix general manager David Dome is not concerned by the worrying prospect of departing coach Mark Rudan pillaging the squad and taking the best players with him to his next destination.
Confirmation of Rudan’s departure at the end of the season just halfway through his two-year contract opens the door for the successful Australian coach to join expansion club Western United, where it is understood Phoenix goalkeeper Filip Kurto will be playing next season.
Speculation of a possible move to the A-League’s newest club has shadowed Rudan since the beginning of the year and those rumours have intensified now that his exit from the Phoenix has been confirmed.
With just six players signed on for next season, there is a genuine fear among Phoenix fans that Rudan could poach Wellington’s out-of-contract stars if he joins Western or Adelaide United, another club believed to have made an offer for the 43-year-old on the back of his impressive rookie season.
‘‘Players leave clubs all the time as you know. There’s always a churn of players,’’ Dome said yesterday. ‘‘We’re working with a number of players that we’ve identified and Mark has been helping us in that space in trying to recontract some of these offcontract players and we’re working pretty hard in that space and we have offers on the table for a lot of these players.
‘‘But the reality is the team is doing very well and a lot of these players are doing well so they’re obviously in demand with other clubs, but we’re obviously going to work really hard to contract the ones we have identified as quickly as we can.’’
Dome did not believe there was a conflict of interest having a coach actively involved in the recruitment process when there was strong speculation that he could leave for a rival club.
Although key forward David Williams, a priority player to resign, said on record that he was waiting for Rudan to make a decision before confirming his own plans, Dome did not believe negotiations with off-contract players were hindered by the likelihood of Rudan’s exit.
Given his success at getting the best out of his players, there would have been no shortage of talent from across the A-League keen to work with Rudan if he had stayed in Wellington. But Dome believes the club’s recent resurgence still puts the Phoenix in a strong position to attract new players for next season, even though there is an uncertainty around who will be coaching the team.
‘‘I’ve got no concerns whatsoever. There’s a lot of people who are interested in coming to Wellington Phoenix given the brand of football we have been playing and also everything we are working on off the field.’’
Heading up the list of 14 out of contract players are star forwards Williams and Roy Krishna and import midfielder Mandi. There has been strong interest in Krishna, in particular, with Melbourne City joining Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC in the hunt for his signature.
The six players who have committed to next season are: Sarpreet Singh, Liberato Cacace, Steven Taylor, Alex Rufer, Louis Fenton and Oli Sail.
Taylor’s extension was triggered when he played 20 games for the club.