Central Coast Mariners head coach Emily Husband has been named Liberty A-League Coach of the Year after a stellar debut season in charge of the Gosford side.
Husband joined the Mariners ahead of the club’s reintroduction into the Liberty A-League for the first time since 2009. Husband was tasked with building the Mariners squad from scratch in the off-season and the Englishwoman struck the perfect balance in the Central Coast playing group and led the club to a fifth-place finish, and on to the Semi-Finals.
Central Coast lost 2-1 to Sydney FC on aggregate in the Semis, bowing out in the final four as defending champions the Sky Blues progressed to the Grand Final.
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A three-phase vote mechanism was used to crown Husband as Coach of the Year in 2023. Each head coach casts a 3-2-1 vote on all coaches. In addition, a panel of football technology and media representatives casts their votes. There is also a fan-voted component.
Husband was awarded Coach of the Year before Saturday’s title decider between Melbourne City and Sydney FC. The award capped off a season that included four straight Coach of the Month wins for Husband; nominated for the monthly award by Football Coaches Australia’s panel of experts, Husband proceeded to win the fan vote in January, February, March and April in recognition of her impact in charge of Central Coast in 2023-24.
Following on from the conclusion of the Liberty A-League season, Husband is set to feature as an assistant coach of the A-Leagues All Stars Women prior to their clash with Arsenal FC on Friday, May 24 at Marvel Stadium.
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