Hard road home for Phoenix
OPINION: Football is a fickle game.
Take Wellington Phoenix cocoaches Des Buckingham and Chris Greenacre for instance. They would have been feeling pretty chuffed back on January 17 after their side beat Melbourne Victory 3-0 to take their Hyundai A-League coaching record to three wins, three draws and one loss from seven games in charge.
Now their future is in question after losing three of their last four, including consecutive 3-1 losses to both Sydney teams. The poor performances, more than the scorelines, have been of particular concern.
They were made permanent coaches until the end of the season after Ernie Merrick resigned last December, but the final eight games of the season will determine if they go any further.
It shapes as a big two months as well for the 11 Phoenix players whose contracts expire at the end of this term.
Ordering them in likelihood of signing a contract extension, they are: Glen Moss, Jacob Tratt, Vince Lia, Ryan Lowry, Lewis Italiano, Shane Smeltz, Louis Fenton, Hamish Watson, Oliver Sail, Alex Rodriguez and Roly Bonevacia.
Let’s start with those who look shoo-ins to be in Wellington next season. Goalkeeper Moss might have turned 34 in January but is in vintage form, while right back Tratt has shown great progression this year.
The next six are a mixture of first-team players who could be extended for the right price and young players who need to prove their worth.
Lowry looks close to an extension, while the likes of Italiano, Fenton and Watson should get their chances in the friendly against Beijing BG next Tuesday and when the All Whites play Fiji at the end of March.
Rodriguez needs to play out of his skin to keep his import slot. Bonevacia is as good as gone. His motivation to perform for the rest of the season is to increase his attractiveness to other clubs after Melbourne City went cold on him following his early-season form slump.
Motivation is a key word for the whole squad, not just the ones playing for their future.
The top six could be as many as five points away come the end of this weekend and the road home is a tough one. They will face top-four opposition in five of their last eight games, while they could be without up to eight frontline players on international duty when they play their most winnable game of that run, against Newcastle on March 26.
To get back to Buckingham and Greenacre, making the top six is essential if they want to continue their roles next season. That was made clear at the press conference when their permanent appointments were announced.
After Thursday’s loss to Sydney FC, Buckingham said to do that they would need to show their fighting spirit. It’s difficult to know what response they will get from the squad. One would hope professional pride and loyalty to the coaches will kick in and see an improvement in quality, but the last two games suggests this season is slipping away.