ob�����ӿ�

Giancarlo Italiano will remain as head coach of the Wellington Phoenix after signing a new contract with the A-League club.

Italiano has put pen to paper for another season, with an option for a further year.

The 42-year-old’s role had come under scrutiny after the team’s disappointing campaign this season, where they sit 11th in the standings with six wins, six draws and 12 defeats.

But the club has opted to back “Chiefy” after he oversaw their most successful season last term when they missed out on a maiden Premiership, finishing in second spot, and a grand final berth.

Italiano said the disappointment of this season has made him even hungrier to succeed.

“I love the club,” said Italiano. “I’ve been here for a long time and I feel like this season was not ideal.

“I have a little bit of unfinished business and I want to make sure that I can take the club forward.

“Staying wasn’t something that I had to think long and hard about. I want to leave this place and leave the club in a better place than this season.”

What hasn’t helped the Phoenix’s struggles is the unprecedented success of Auckland FC, who need only a draw against the Perth Glory this weekend to clinch the premiers plate in their inaugural season.

The Phoenix lost all three derby matches, including a 6-1 hammering in February that was one of the club’s worst losses in their history.

David Ball was among the players to leave the Phoenix this season. Photo / Photosport

On the field, the Phoenix have been plagued with issues this season with captain Alex Rufer missing time with illness, and a steady flow of injuries. There have been lots of departures with the likes of David Ball, Oskar van Hattum and Marco Rojas moving on during the season.

The Phoenix also lost some of their young core with Alex Paulsen, Ben Old and Finn Surman securing deals overseas.

“Last year’s success, I remember at the beginning of the season everyone wrote us off and there are people in this room that said that we’ll come dead last and we were able to hit heights that no one thought that we could,” said Italiano.

“This season the expectation was a lot higher, but I think also people need to understand that when you have a lot of turnover of players it’s going to affect consistency, playing style, and so on.

“Everyone looks at it as a bad thing, but I actually look at it as a great opportunity for us to move forward.

“There’s a lot of boys this season that have been given a lot of game time that otherwise wouldn’t have if we were at full compliment, so that’s been a great thing, which puts us in a better stead for next season because those boys now won’t be inexperienced.”

With two games left this season, planning can now begin on preparing for the 2025/26 campaign.

Italiano said he’d like to retain Francisco Geraldes, who joined the Phoenix in February on loan, while a host of other players are off contract.

“I’m going to sit down over the next couple of weeks and just map out what I think is best for the squad, and then I’ll just go from there,” said Italiano. “I think that’s, for a large part, one of the reasons why I decided to continue.

“If I felt as though there weren’t enough resources, I don’t think [it] would have been a good fit for either of us, but I feel like there’s enough there that we can move forward.

“Probably looking at bringing in one or two creative options, potentially a defender or two.”

 is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.