A-League: Honest self assessment behind Ernie Merrick’s Phoenix exit

Ernie Merrick felt he could do no more for Wellington Phoenix and it was the right time to step aside.

Ernie Merrick in the dugout during Sunday’s match against Adelaide, his last game in charge of Wellington Phoenix.

As the Wellington Phoenix players digested the last morsels of their evening meal several hours after the 2-0 loss to Adelaide United on Sunday, all seemed normal.

There was disappointment about the loss and general discussion about what could have been. Players talked about turning things around as the attention focused on their next opponents, Central Coast Mariners.

Little did they know what would happen next as coach Ernie Merrick stood up, asked for a moment’s silence then delivered the shock news he would be resigning, effective immediately.

In a typically frank assessment, Merrick told the players he had taken them as far as he could. He had racked his brain, day and night, for the clue to getting them to click. There were nights spent wide awake looking for a solution and numerous emails at ungodly hours to his assistants.

In the end, the man who had won the Premiers Plate-Championship double twice with Melbourne Victory, and the only man to be named A-League coach of the year twice, knew what he had to do.

“Simply the team is not where it should be (on the table). We have a really good squad and staff but we are bottom of the table,” Merrick said yesterday when he fronted the media for the first time since his decision was made public on Monday.

“I have to take full responsibility, so I stepped down.

“It is the right time. There is so much ahead of this club. The new person who comes in needs time to turn it around. The next seven games, we have five at home. That should be a good springboard for the new coach.”

For those who know the 63-year-old, it did not come as a surprise. A man of principle, this “Aussie-Scotsman”, as he likes to call himself, always operated with a clear perspective. His job was always about the players, the club, the fans and never about himself.

At no time could you place Merrick in the ego-driven, self-centred mould.

Phoenix captain Andrew Durante’s emotional response yesterday said it all.

“He has been a great coach, a great role model for me and a mentor,” Durante said in a voice that was on the verge of cracking. “He transformed the way we played and created an attacking brand of football.

“But the main legacy he leaves is the way he conducted himself on and off the field and many of us will learn from that.”

Durante said the players have to take the blame .

“When he told us the news on Sunday night, there was total silence. Then shock,” he said. “When he left the room, Mossy (goalkeeper Glen Moss) stood up and said ‘this is on us’ and it is. We have to accept we are responsible for what has happened and it is sad. We let him down.”

Durante vowed that the players will pick themselves up and give full support to whoever comes in to replace Merrick.

“We need to pick ourselves up. It is a big job for me as captain and the leadership group to get this squad together and have open, honest truths about our performances and kick on from here,” he said. “There is no way we are going to throw in the towel. We are too good a team. I won’t let it happen.”

Merrick revealed he had tried to resign after the 6-1 loss to Melbourne Victory five weeks ago but that he had been talked out of it by chairman Rob Morrison.

“This time I told the players first, then texted Rob. There was no going back,” he said.

Merrick’s replacement is expected to be either Auckland City coach Ramon Tribulietx or former Sydney FC defender Mark Rudan, while former Jets assistant Luc Trani has also expressed interest in the job.

Morrison hopes to have a fulltime coach in place by Christmas.

“It is an absolute priority to get this sorted out as quickly as possible,” Morrison said. “We don’t want to take more than two weeks. The process has started.”