Despite no formal contact from the FFA, Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou is still firm favourite to be given the Socceroos top job.
Pending an announcement in the next couple of weeks, the Victory coach is remaining quite coy about the job, saying his focus is entirely on his team and their next games.
They played Adelaide United last night in what would have been a bumper match. The two teams have always managed to sell out stadiums and make for a boisterous match.
“We’ve had two horrendous games down there, we got beaten up in one and totally outplayed in the other,” Postecoglou said in a press conference before getting on a plane to Adelaide.
Training in Melbourne this week, the team was looking strong a fit, but with a side of uncertainty. Will they be able to bounce back if their top coach is called for national duty?
Postecoglou hasn’t mentioned the hovering question mark over his head to his team, rather making sure his players stay focused so they don’t repeat last week’s “disappointing” 0-0 performance.
If the FFA make their decision next week, it could be the last game for Postecoglou as Victory coach.
But with humour, Postecoglou reminded the media pack that he plays every game like it’s his last.
“There’s always that possibility, the board might say I’m not doing a good job, that’s how you coach,” he said.
“Every game could potentially be your last game.”
In his weekly column for The Age newspaper, Postecoglou hit out at the way the Socceroos were heading and says there must a lift in spirit before Brazil.
“For me the reason we are in this position is that we have lost sight of what our national team represents and what its role in our game is,” he wrote.
“For a long time the Socceroos have stood for courage and a competitive nature in the face of adversity.
“But sadly this is no longer the case. There needs to be a cultural shift so we understand once again the essence of our national shirt.”
He points out “self-interest”, “self-preservation” a survivalist mentality for running the national team’s success.
As the Socceroos are in pre-Cup mode, there could be a possibility that a coach could juggle the two jobs.
As one of the busiest coaches already, Postecoglou rightfully said he wouldn’t want to entertain the idea.
“For myself anyway, I throw myself in what I do, they’re both enormous jobs, I don’t think you should take shortcuts,” he said.
It’s a sign of the times that the FFA is opening their selection process to local coaches. The sacking of Holger Osieck shows that blind faith in foreign coaches isn’t the norm anymore, and that the A-League is finally maturing.
The top three contenders for the job have been local coaches, Postecoglou, Central Coast Mariners’ Graham Arnold and Western Sydney Wanderer’s Tony Popovic.
It might have taken the League ten years to get to this point, but it has cemented itself in the sport calendar of Australia.
“Getting home grown coaches to coach the national team is a healthy thing,” Postecoglou remarked.
“As the league keeps growing there’s more and more young aspiring coaches who deserve a spot.”
FFA chairman Frank Lowy has backed the local coach selection, saying even before Osieck was selected, the whole board was entertaining the idea that the next coach should be Australian.
Right now, assistant Aurelio Vidmar will remain as the caretaker coach until a replacement is found.
