New Zealand international James McGarry is back with the Wellington Phoenix for a third stint and says it’s time they give the fans something to cheer about – and that starts with ending their disastrous derby record against rivals Auckland FC.
The 28-year-old became new permanent head coach Chris Greenacre’s first signing of the off-season as he put pen-to-paper on a two-year deal with the Nix after sealing a release from Brisbane Roar.
Back at the club that gave him his first chance in professional football, the New Zealand international believes it’s about time the club gives it’s fans something to cheer about, especially in the wake of their recent results against new A-Leagues rivals Auckland FC.
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“Obviously those games are in the past, and we want to change the future,” McGarry said when speaking exclusively to aleagues.com.au.
“Those are massive games coming up this season. Obviously, it’s going to be a first for me. (Last season) I actually watched the derbies and just got a little bit excited watching them, obviously because it’s previously not been a match.
“So yeah, it’s exciting. It’s a new team, it’s a fresh team that we’ve got now. We have obviously got players that played in those derbies, and I look to sort of take on a bit from those guys.
“But again, there’s no bigger match than a derby, and especially a Kiwi Derby. They’ve had the success that they’ve had.
“As good as that is for New Zealand football, we play for the Phoenix, so we want to be the top team in New Zealand.
“To do that, we have to win those games. At the end of the day, I think those those derbies, it’s whoever wants to turn up on the day.”
For McGarry in particular, the idea of a New Zealand team winning trophies that isn’t Wellington Phoenix is still hard to wrap his head around given his close ties with the club.
That said, the left-back believes the Nix’s noisy neighbours’ recent success should be all the motivation his teammates need to turn the tables, even if he’s good friends with a few of the Auckland players.
“They (Wellington) gave me my first opportunity when I was 17. Obviously, it’s my third stint now, so look, it’s a little bit tough.
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“Of course, I’d love to be on the other end of that, winning trophies with the Wellington Phoenix, and that has to be the end goal.
“I’ve got a few mates in the Auckland team, I’ve talked to them a lot, obviously in the national team, but when you cross that white line in the Derby, there’s no mates.
“That’s just just football, and yeah, it’s tough. But at the end of the day, that’s what we’ve got on our shoulders. We need to bring success back to Wellington.
“Obviously, we got close a number of years ago, but for us, it’s it’s about taking that next step further and really giving the fans something to shout about.”
Leading the club into the 2026/27 A-League Men season will be Head Coach and fan favourite Chris Greenacre.
A former player at the Phoenix, Greenacre has served as interim head coach on four seperate occasions before finally being handed the reigns on a permanent basis.
But after steadying the ship at the back of the 2025/26 campaign following the departure of former boss Giancarlo Italiano, the Phoenix hierarchy opted to give ‘Greeny’ the keys to the first team, and McGarry says that was a factor in him returning to the club.
“Wellington for me is like a second home. Yes, it’s my third stint here but to be honest, it feels like a new club, a fresh start,” McGarry said.
“Having Greeny, and obviously having worked with Greeny in the past, you know I really like the way he works, the way he manages players, his style of play I think fits me perfectly.
He added: “I think his man management is really good. He’s been a player, so he sort of knows the ins and outs of being a player and the ups and downs that you can have, so he’s really good like that.
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“He’s trying to create a really strong family you know (tight) knit group, which I think he’s done really well with and it’s working well.
“And then on the football side of things, he’s obviously been at the club for so long now and obviously played at the Phoenix and knows what it sort of takes to represent Wellington, and it’s just an exciting style of football.
He added: “Obviously we want to score goals. We want to create opportunities. We’ve hopefully signed the players that are going to do that.
“We’ve got some really exciting players this year, a lot of youth, but a lot of youth that have really high potential, and I think he’s really good because he’s worked with the academy.
“He knows the players. He knows what they need to succeed. So having him in the head coach role, I think, is perfect for this group of players that we’ve got.”
The Phoenix come into the new A-League Men season off the back of successive campaigns where finals football has eluded them having gone within a whisker of winning the Premiership and subsequently then reaching the semi-finals in season 2023/24.
But despite their recent failure to secure finals football, McGarry is adamant there’s no reason why they can’t be in contention for honours come the end of this season.
In fact, McGarry is arguably the perfect person to speak to when it comes to a lesser fancied side proving everybody wrong given he was part of the Mariners squad that won the 2022/23 title under Nick Montgomery.
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“Obviously, I’ve been in the league for a number of years now, so I feel like I’ve got a good idea of sort of what it takes to be a champion in the league, and it takes a lot,” McGarry said.
“At the start of that season I don’t think there probably would have been any pundits saying that Central Coast Mariners was going to win the league, and I think it’s probably the same this year with us.
“We’ve got a young team, not as much experience as some other teams, but we’ve got good players, and I think in the A-League it’s a pretty even playing field.
“I think at this stage, anyone can win. It depends on what you do throughout the season, the platform you build. I think it’ll depend on how you work through the ups and downs of a season. That’ll determine who wins the league.
“It’s important to make sure you’re in that top six because that’s going to give you the chance to to play finals football.
“It can be easy for maybe teams to come in from the get-go and say the goal is to win the league, whereas it takes a lot of of things throughout the season to work in your favour to end up in a Grand Final, and then win the Grand Final.
“So I think for us to start off with, I think you have to set the benchmark as you have to be in that top six because once you’re in that top six, then you’re in contention for finals football. So that’s got to be the first goal.”
Wellington Phoenix kick off their campaign with a home clash against Melbourne Victory at Hnry Stadium on Sunday, October 18.
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