Herdman walks away but NZF still ‘positive’
New Zealand Football says it ‘‘remains in positive dialogue’’ with its preferred candidate to be the new All Whites coach, despite John Herdman confirming he had turned down the job.
The former Football Ferns and current Canadian men’s coach said yesterday that he had turned down an offer from New Zealand Football, after Stuff and other media outlets reported he was its target to fill the vacancy.
In a statement committing himself to Canada through the 2026 World Cup, which they are
co-hosting, Herdman said: ‘‘Success at this level will always invite opportunity.
I’ve received several offers in recent months, all of which
I’ve turned down, including an offer from New Zealand Football.’’
NZ Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell was not available for comment yesterday, but NZ Football insisted in a statement that it was in dialogue with its preferred candidate to permanently succeed Danny Hay.
‘‘We will not be commenting on media speculation for the pos
ition. We will also not be commenting on individual candidates.’’ Herdman’s public rejection of NZ Football came after the governing body revealed it had identified a preferred candidate to succeed Hay as All Whites coach, but did not name
them.
Pragnell said an offer had been made to ‘‘an absolute standout candidate’’ in early January and, in his opinion, it was ‘‘very close’’ to being signed.
Pragnell said a family health issue then arose ‘‘out of the blue’’
for that candidate, which ‘‘created some real challenges for them in terms of them being able to sign a contract at this point in time’’.
On Wednesday, Pragnell’s position was that he was ‘‘still in dialogue’’ with the prospective coach, but he was cautious in outlining where things stood with them. ‘‘I would say positive, but unknown.
‘‘Obviously we’ve had some deep conversations with them in terms of their interest, their commitment to the country, and wanting to have a really significant impact.
‘‘Equally, when a left-field health issue comes at you out of the blue, you just have to take
things step by step. We’re still in dialogue. We’re still positive. I remain optimistic, but having said that, we are dealing with variables that are outside our control.’’
Men’s under-20 coach Darren Bazeley has been appointed All Whites coach on an interim basis for their home fixtures against China in March.
Pragnell said on Wednesday the end of the March window would provide ‘‘a chance for us to step back and decide what’s next’’.
‘‘Whatever outcome comes out of that, it might be a case of going back to the drawing board and if that’s the case, then we are open.’’