He’s set to call time on a near decade-long stint at Wellington Phoenix at the end of the 2022-23 Isuzu UTE A-League season – but goalkeeper Oliver Sail is as motivated as he’s ever been to guide his boyhood club on a deep finals push.
With his current Phoenix contract drawing to a close, Sail was confirmed as one of three players preparing to move on from the club at the conclusion of the current campaign, along with midfielders Clayton Lewis and Steven Ugarkovic.
Perth Glory is the rumoured destination for Sail – but before he looks to the 2023-24 A-League Men season, the first-choice Phoenix gloveman has laser-sharp focus on his side’s ambition to reach the top six and feature prominently in the post-season.
MATCH REPORT: Phoenix boost Isuzu UTE A-League finals hopes with narrow win over Jets
Sail and the ‘Nix beat Newcastle Jets 2-1 at Sky Stadium on Saturday afternoon, in what was the first game since Sail’s imminent move was confirmed by the club.
In the aftermath, Sail explained to Sky Sports that his evolution as a player was one of the key factors at the forefront of his decision to depart Wellington for a fresh start.
“All I can say is, I won’t be here next season,” Sail said.
“I won’t be playing for the Phoenix next year. A number of factors weighed on my decision. For me, it’s about my evolution, about my progression and where I want to get to. And for me, I felt that was the best way to do it.
“I’ve loved my time here. I’ve been here a long, long time. People forget that. I know I have only been playing first team football for three years, but I’ve been here for the best part of a decade.
“I think people can give me a little bit of leeway in wanting a fresh start.”
Wellington’s win over the Jets was their second triumph in a three-game unbeaten streak. Ufuk Talay’s side will end Round 19 in fifth spot on the table, level on points with fourth-placed Central Coast Mariners who lost to Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night.
Wellington and the Mariners (28 points) now sit just three points behind Adelaide United (third) and Western Sydney (second), but they could just as easily tumble down the table as they could climb up it with both Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets lurking within three points of the ‘Nix in sixth and seventh.
“It’s amazing what’s happening,” Sail said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any competition – and I’m pretty excited to be a part of it, to be fair. It adds a lot of spice for the last two months.”
The incredibly tight nature of the A-League Men is breeding optimism in the Phoenix camp of pulling off something special this season; it’s what’s fuelling Sail’s desire to make sure his last campaign at the club is a successful one.
And if there were any doubts of his commitment to Wellington’s cause considering his planned departure, Sail says with defiance: “I think anybody who knows me as a character, knows that I’d never let that happen… we’ve got a bunch of players in the same position – but we’re professionals. We have our own ambitions.
“Every time i step out onto a football pitch, I try and play the same way. I just try to do what the manager is telling me to do and I’ll take it as it comes.”
Sail added: “We have very high hopes for the rest of this season. The manager is pretty coy to the media about what we’re trying to achieve all the time, he tends to keep it a little bit under wraps, because we have a young squad and we have to manage expectation on the players’ shoulders.
“But in house, we have very high expectations of what we can do this year, and I’m not going to let where I’m playing next year get in the way of that.”
