Ufuk Talay’s stock continues to rise in the Isuzu UTE A-League and the Wellington Phoenix head coach revealed his aspirations to work overseas.
Talay has impressed since being appointed Wellington coach almost three years ago, leading the Phoenix to their best finish in the A-League Men – third place at the end of the 2019-20 season.
The finals-chasing Phoenix, who have been displaced from New Zealand due to the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years before returning home this month for two fixtures, are in the hunt for the top four this term.
Talay has been linked with a move to Macarthur FC in Australia following the announcement of Ante Milicic’s exit at the end of the current campaign.
As Talay attracts interest from across the Tasman, the former Sydney FC midfielder and Australia Under-20 head coach was asked about his future plans.
“The goal always was to build a career,” Talay told SEN’s The Global Game.
“That’s why I ended up staying with Wellington Phoenix and show I can coach in one place for a long time and build career.
“I was fortunate enough to work alongside national team coach Ange Postecoglou and he said ‘don’t be in a rush, build a career for yourself and show you can coach and everything else will fall into place’.
“For myself personally, it was always to try to do well within the A-Leagues. As players have aspirations to go overseas, I’m no different to them.”
The Phoenix are fifth in the ALM standings, a point behind fourth-placed Adelaide United but with a match in hand.
Coming off a 1-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers in Auckland, Wellington visit in-form Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Friday before closing out their regular season against the Wanderers (May 5) and defending champions Melbourne City (May 9).
