Former Central Coast Mariners striker Daniel McBreen says Graham Arnold was the best coach he ever had

AFTER being managed by Graham Arnold, Daniel McBreen says he is puzzled by some of the negativity surrounding Arnold’s appointment as Socceroos coach.

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold with striker Bobo.

AFTER being managed by Graham Arnold, Daniel McBreen says he is puzzled by some of the negativity surrounding Arnold’s appointment as Socceroos coach.

While the Sydney FC coach is undoubtedly the best local candidate to take over from Bert Van Marwijk after the World Cup, there are pockets of fans who have gone so far as to declare they will not support the Socceroos with Arnold in charge.

It’s an attitude that McBreen doesn’t understand and the former Central Coast Mariners striker says anyone who has worked under Arnold — as he did for four years at the Mariners — will share his view.

SYDNEY FC: Sky Blues start hunt for new coach

TOM SMITHIES: Arnie has earned the right to coach Socceroos

“The vitriol and hatred some people seem to have for Arnie, we just can’t understand it,” McBreen said. “We’ve only seen the side of him where everything is on point.”

Some of the negativity stems from Arnold’s first stint as Socceroos coach over a decade ago when he oversaw a poor Asian Cup campaign in 2007.

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold with striker Bobo.

Arnold himself has said he made mistakes back then, but insists he’s learned from them and is a changed person 10 years on.

And McBreen believes the experience, during which he learned from the likes of Guus Hiddink and Pim Verbeek, has turned him into the manager he is now; one that enjoyed incredible success with a cash-strapped Mariners team, then by fashioning one of the best teams in the history of the A-League in Sydney FC.

“I know a lot of people can’t stand him and that stems from a long time ago, but I think he’s admitted himself he’s grown a lot since then,” McBreen said. “He’s worked with a lot of people and brought in people to help him and help those around him. He wasn’t anywhere near the finished article when he went into the Australian set-up too early.

Graham Arnold chats with striker Daniel McBreen at Central Coast Mariners training in 2013.

“His mistakes were put out into the public eye very early on.

“But working with Guus Hiddink and Pim Verbeek and the contacts they have, I think that’s the reason he’s evolved and grown into the manager that he is today. He was taken into a circle of people he may not have been brought into if he hadn’t been thrown in early.”

McBreen’s career took him to Europe, then back to Australia, before a stint in China, but there’s no question over who his greatest manager was.

“I had plenty of managers in my time and I didn’t get to play under Arnie (at the Mariners) until I was about 33,” he said. “I used to tell the young boys at the club they needed to soak it up because they would possibly not have a manager like him ever again.

“His man-management skills were unbelievable. He knew how to work out everyone’s personalities — which players he could give a rocket to and the ones who needed an arm around them.

“He’s the best manager I’ve ever had; he inspired me to go into coaching.”

Originally published as Former Central Coast Mariners striker Daniel McBreen says Graham Arnold was the best coach he ever had