Light and shade at Phoenix headquarters
Two men dipped their heads under the roller door to enter the Wellington Phoenix’s gym area at Martin Luckie Park on Friday morning.
For one, it was, in a sense, the best of times. Chris Greenacre was demoted from co-coach of the first-team to youth programme head coach when then Phoenix head coach Darije Kalezic arrived in the off-season. But on Thursday he returned from exile for his third crack as interim head coach after Kalezic was officially sacked. By Friday’s media session, he was a full of positivity, optimism and enthusiasm.
For the other, it was the worst of times. Club captain Andrew Durante, battling the flu and wrapped in a puffer jacket, cut a solemn figure as he described the season under Kalezic in grave tones.
‘‘It’s been frustrating. It’s been disappointing. There is a group of players upstairs who are really disappointed in how the season has gone,’’ he said.
‘‘Each season we start with so much optimism and hope ... It’s been a failure, really, if you have to sum it up.‘‘
So what went wrong?
‘‘I think a European coach coming here it was always going to be difficult to understand the league, understand the Aussie and Kiwi players and how we think and maybe our ability – maybe he had a higher expectation of our abilities.
‘‘I thought [former assistant coach] Rado [Vidosic] was a really good appointment to help bridge that, obviously that didn’t work out, the two of them couldn’t really work together.
‘‘I felt so many little different issues affected results this year, but if I had to sum it up in one thing it was the lack of knowledge of the players and the A-league maybe hindered his [Kalezic’s] performances.’’
Durante said he held those concerns ever since Kalezic was announced as coach.
The complexities of the league, with the salary cap and prohibition on clubs being able to pay transfer fees for players from other A-league clubs, meant it was a steep learning curve for any European coach, Durante said.
His man management was also a bit off, he said.
‘‘Players that aren’t playing, issues with how they’ve been managed, for sure there were some issues throughout the
team.
‘‘Is that uncommon in football? No. Could he [Kalezic] maybe have got more out of some of the players? Potentially.
But Greenacre, who has worked for five years as Phoenix assistant coach or co-coach, won’t need an education of the ins and outs of the league.
Only goalkeeping coach Fernando vaz Alves has been retained from Kalezic’s backroom staff. Phoenix academy counterparts Paul Temple and Aidan Wivell replace assistant coach Dario Pot and fitness coach Bart Caubergh are gone. Steve Coleman will take the reserve/academy team.
Greenacre said he was hoping the fresh faces would breathe new life into the squad.
‘‘It’s a shame it’s come to this. It’s always a sad situation when coaching staff leave any club, but the beauty of sport is the game carries on.
‘‘It’s been a turbulent week for everybody and we need to pick the players up and focus on Western Sydney Wanderers.‘‘
As far as Greenacre sees it, he has one game in charge. Although it’s unlikely, a new coach could be signed as early as next week, which would see Greenacre out of the head coach’s job. If a new coach isn’t signed, then he tiptoes, precariously, through the last six games of the season.
‘‘I don’t even know my job title at the minute, it’s all over the place,’’ he said.