Ben Dale will not continue as South Adelaide coach following 4-0 Premier League soccer defeat
A battling SA Premier League soccer club has parted ways with its coach following a big loss on Saturday – just weeks after telling him he would be in charge next season.
- Raiders eye top two finish after 4-0 win over South Adelaide
- Shock as Wooding leaves Panthers and returns to MetroStars
South Adelaide has severed ties Ben Dale just weeks after the coach was told he would remain in charge at the Premier League soccer club next season.
The Panthers informed Dale on Sunday he would not be offered the role for 2020 with the move following a 4-0 loss to Raiders on Saturday and a 6-0 thumping earlier this month.
South has struggled, winning just one game and drawing four while conceding 57 goals across the campaign to sit bottom of the ladder.
Dale said he felt like he had failed this season and was disappointed.
“Two weeks ago we had a meeting – myself and the football committee – and they offered me the job for next year, which I was a bit surprised about considering the circumstances,” Dale said.
“It was unofficially confirmed and we were waiting to see the outcome of this season before we announced it.
“But then I got a phone call yesterday (Sunday) saying they had changed their mind in regard to 2020 and were going to go on a different path.
“I said ‘that’s fine’. People change their minds and I respect that decision.”
Former Western Strikers coach and West Adelaide player Brenton Hiern will take charge of South for the remaining four rounds.
The Panthers offered Dale the option to coach for the remainder of the season with Hiern alongside him, but he declined.
It took South until round nine to record its first win this season and three-straight draws from rounds 12 to 14 appeared to have it back on track.
A 6-0 battering by Adelaide Comets, a 1-0 defeat to Adelaide Blue Eagles in recent weeks and then Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Raiders led to Dale’s demise.
Dale accepted responsibility for the team’s results and said a poor start to the season snowballed with the side struggling to jell.
The Panthers also lost star midfielder Liam Wooding mid-season when he chose to return to MetroStars in June.
Dale did not rule out coaching elsewhere next season.
“I remember in the Rocky Balboa movie when he says he’s ‘got something in the basement’ – personally I feel like I’m not that far away from being a good coach,” he said.
South chairman Phil Reed said the club decided it was time for a change to bring a new voice and direction in.
“We felt Ben was not the right person for next year, he has been for the last two years and done a great job, but it’s time for a change,” Reed said.
“Ben’s put 100 per cent effort into the job, unfortunately it hasn’t been a successful year but he’s done a fantastic job at the club.
“We haven’t spoken to any coaches to coach the club in 2020 but we will do over the next few weeks and announce it once we’ve made a decision.”
patrick.keam@news.com.au