http://www.news.com.au/sport/footba...h/news-story/a7f7b35fad342f93d536aa714d303da3
Six names on shortlist for new Central Coast Mariners coach
CENTRAL Coast Mariners will next week begin interviewing the six names on their short list drawn up to replace Tony Walmsley - including former Wellington boss Ricki Herbert.
Senior Mariners officials drew up the short list on Wednesday night, having waded through more than 60 applications to become the club’s new head coach.
It’s believed that three of the candidates are from overseas, while two more have a background in the state league — including one from Melbourne. The Mariners are eager to make the appointment quickly, with the new season just weeks away, after promising to conduct a “global hunt” for the new man with input from former Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp..
Herbert is being seen as a leading candidate, after coaching Wellington for six years and getting to the finals three times, as well as taking the New Zealand team to the World Cup in 2010 where they emerged unbeaten. The 55-year-old has been coaching the Maldives after quitting the All-White job in 2013, but has signalled he is keen to return to the A-League, and his experience of working within tight budgets is likely to appeal to the Mariners hierarchy.
Former Wellington and New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert is on the Mariners’ coaching shortlist.Source:AP
Walmsley was sacked dramatically 10 days ago, despite having remodelled the squad extensively since last year’s disastrous campaign. It’s believed that his renewed contract had contained stringent performance indicators, and the club moved quickly to act after the loss to state league side Green Gully in the FFA Cup.
Mariners CEO Shaun Mielekamp declined to comment on the names the club had chosen to interview, but said the standard of those applying had been pleasing for the club, after its bottom-placed finish last season.
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“It wouldn’t be fair to discuss individuals, but out of 63 applications we had some very strong candidates,” Mielekamp said. “There were two with national team experience, some from Europe and some very strong local candidates.
“Now we’ll talk to them all, with a view to getting the right man in place sooner rather than later. We believe we have a competitive squad who the right man come work with this season.”
Whoever replaces Walmsley will have almost no room for manoeuvre with the squad, after signings including Ivan Necevski, Mickael Tavares and Jacques Faty from Sydney and Wellington duo Blake Powell and Kwabena Akubi.
The club is desperate to turn around its fortunes after a season in which they became the worst performing Australian side in the A-League’s history. Walmsley had been charged with deploying a youthful squad in the pursuit of attacking football, but a more pragmatic philosophy appears imminent given the experience of those brought in since last season.