http://www.foxsports.com.au/footbal...ey-as-head-coach/story-e6frf4gl-1227300659201
THE Mariners hope to announce their new head coach this week, with interim boss Tony Walmsley poised to be given the long-term job with a brief to forge an “expansive, risky, adventurous” identity.
The Central Coast bounced back from last week’s 6-1 mauling by Brisbane to inflict another defeat on Western Sydney on Saturday night, ensuring the Wanderers cannot catch the Gosford club on the league table and giving retiring captain John Hutchinson a winning last game at Central Coast Stadium.
As The Daily Telegraph revealed on Thursday, the improved displays wrought by Walmsley since succeeding Phil Moss — barring what Walmsley called a “car crash” at Brisbane — have been enough to convince the club’s executives that he should land the job full-time.
If the appointment might be met with scepticism among some of the club’s disenfranchised supporter base, given Walmsley’s inexperience as a senior head coach, the man himself admitted his temporary role had been “really enjoyable”.
The Daily Telegraph understands that the club hopes to confirm the new man in place before Friday’s trip to Wellington, so that discussions over re-signing players — and targeting new recruits — can begin in earnest.
Walmsley could barely stop grinning after Josh Rose’s second minute goal was enough to defeat Western Sydney on Saturday night, joking that amid the controversy over Perth’s salary-cap punishment that he was “fairly sure” the low-budget Mariners hadn’t exceeded the cap.
Walmsley had been made technical director just before Moss was sacked, but made clear that he wanted the coaching role despite the challenges it would bring — even warning of the “big risk” in bringing in an outside identity as head coach.
“I’m enjoying it thoroughly at the moment,” he said. “As technical director it’s allowed me to get a first-hand look at the players and live the first steps of a proactive and entertaining playing style and it’s really enjoyable.
“I’m here for the players and to see the rewards of their efforts and see them feel good. When I came in they weren’t feeling too good about themselves and that’s the thing I’m most pleased with.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction for me for either doing the job or finding the right person to do the job. But they [the new coach] have to be aligned in our thinking.
“They have to be prepared to live and breathe what we’re trying to do. So getting the wrong person is the big risk at this stage.”
Walmsley said that the Mariners had to offer a unique product to attract a sustainable supporter base given the limited populace in the Central Coast region.
“We’re in the entertainment business and we have to really have a go and as the smallest club in the league we have to play with an expansive, risky, adventurous playing style,” he said. “There’s a lot more sophistication to be had but there’s some really good signs.”
