Outgoing Adelaide United head coach Carl Veart says he’s disappointed with the club’s decision to end his tenure in charge of the side at the end of the current Isuzu UTE A-League campaign – but he’s determined to make his final months at the helm memorable as the Reds pursue a spot in the Finals Series.
Adelaide confirmed the news of his planned departure this week, having “exercised a contractual option not to extend Veart’s tenure beyond the current campaign.”
Put in charge of the Reds in an interim capacity at the end of the 2019/20 season, Veart was officially appointed as head coach to begin the following campaign and has overseen 138 Isuzu UTE A-League games at the Reds. Veart will end his tenure as the club’s longest-serving head coach in the competition’s history.
READ MORE: Carl Veart to leave Adelaide United: Full details
Veart addressed the media on Friday morning, and while expressing his focus was solely on the remaining four games of the regular season and breaking back into the top six before the post-season, admitted he was disappointed with the club’s decision and the timing of the news.
“Yeah, look, I’m okay,” he said. “You know, it happens in football. Yes, I’m disappointed. I love this club, and I’ve always tried to do my best by it.
WEEKEND PREVIEW: What you need to know for Round 26 of the Isuzu UTE A-League
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
“So look, we still got four games to go, and that’s all my focus is on now is these four games to get us in the finals and hopefully have a good run in the finals.
“It’s not timing that I wanted it to be released now. So look, our focus as a team, and the playing group, is just to do our jobs. We’ve got four important games, and that’s all our focus needs to be on those four games and pick up as many points as we can and make finals.”
When asked whether he wished to have remained in the job beyond this season, Veart said: “Most definitely.
“This club means a lot to me… I’m not happy with the decision, but I’ve got to move on.
“The club believe it’s the best decision for the club. And that’s the way it is. I’ve always supported this club and always want what’s best for it.”
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
Reflecting on his five years spent as head coach of Adelaide, the former Reds player turned head coach was full of pride, particularly in his use of young, South Australian talent in the senior team – a core coaching philosophy that has uncovered a number of rising stars down the years, and led to a handful of big-money transfers to overseas clubs.
Nestory Irankunda’s move to Bayern Munich is the prime example of Veart putting faith in teenage South Australian talent; the 19-year-old debuted in the Isuzu UTE A-League at the age of 15 and is now a Subway Socceroo.
In March, the Young Socceroos made history by becoming champions of Asia at the Under-20 Asian Cup. Four of Veart’s young South Australians – Panagiotis Kikianis, Fabian Talladira, Luka Jovanovic and Jonny Yull – contributed to the Asian triumph – as did former Reds Steven Hall and Musa Toure.
All six players have enjoyed first-team minutes under Veart at Adelaide through his time in charge.
SIGNED ON: Wanderers captain & ‘one of the best leaders in Aus football’ signs multi-year extension
“There’s a lot here that I’m very proud of, but I’d say providing that platform for South Australian players, and getting the great support from our supporters, I think it’s been fantastic,” he said.
“The support that I’ve been given over the last 24 hours, people that have reached out to me, it’s taken me by a little bit of shock.
“(I’m) very proud to have represented this club. I’ve done my best for them them, and you know, hopefully they can, in the future, have success. Hopefully, we get success this year. All I ever want for this club is, is to have success.
“We’ve done exceptionally well with that, (we’ve) provided that platform for the young players, and I’ve always believed that we’ve had the talent in South Australia, it was just a matter of giving them that platform to go on and be their best.
“And yeah, I’m very happy that I’ve managed to have that influence on a lot of those young players. Other than Adelaide United, my other greatest pride is the national team, and I think to be able to give that opportunity to young players to go live their dreams and play for their national team, I don’t think there’s any greater honour.
“That’s something, when I reflect on my career, that was my greatest highlight was playing for the national team. So to be able to have that impact on and give those opportunities for our young players to get up and play for the national team, that’s also one of my proudest moments.”
SPECIAL FEATURE: Outrageous origin story of the Wanderers ‘weapon’ that stunned Juan Mata
Adelaide have four important games still to play before the end of the season, with their chances of reaching the Finals Series dependent on positive results against Perth Glory, Wellington Phoenix, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City. The Reds sit seventh on the Isuzu UTE A-League table, equal with sixth-placed Sydney FC on 33 points.
Veart hopes the news of his imminent exit from the club won’t cause disruption within the playing group as he looks to guide his side back into the top six by the end of the regular season.
“Hopefully, it’s not too disruptive,” He said. “Hopefully, the players’ focus will stay on what we need to do as a group. And that’s all I can ask of the players, is to keep playing the brand of football that we’ve played.
“I think last week’s performance was a very good performance. Again, just few mistakes at important parts of the game where it cost us and we didn’t make the most of our opportunities.
“But I thought we played really well. We looked much like ourselves, like we were at the beginning of the season. So look, that’s our focus, to go to Perth and put in a really good performance and get the three points.”
With his time at Adelaide United set to come to an end at the end of the 2024-25 season – whether that be at the conclusion of the regular season, or in the Finals Series, Veart hasn’t ruled out a return to coaching at a rival Isuzu UTE A-League club.
“Look, time will tell,” he said.
“As I said, I have never thought about going anywhere else. This club has always been my number one priority, and it will still be my number one priority until I coach the last game here.”
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
