Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano said it will be up to the club’s ownership to decide whether he continues next season following Saturday’s 4-1 Isuzu UTE A-League loss to Western United.
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It has been a challenging season after their historic run to the 2023-24 Semi-Finals, with the Phoenix struggling to match the highs of last term following the departures of stars Alex Paulsen, Ben Old, Finn Surmann and Bozhidar Kraev among others.
“Finals are done, we’re not going to make finals,” Italiano told reporters post-game. “Even if we win all seven games, we still need a lot of things to work for us.
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“Now what we’re playing for really is going to come down to pride for the club.
“The way we’re losing games at the moment… it just felt like an unacceptable performance for the first 60 minutes.
“We’re playing for the pride of the club for the next seven games. I expect the players to lift.”
Italiano added: “I’m hurting as much as the fans are. We had our fans come today, all the way out there and they expected more, I expected more.
“We have to dig deep as a group and show what we’re really made of.”
Out of contract at the end of the season, Italiano was asked if he felt secure in his role beyond 2024-25.
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“Whatever will be, will be,” replied the second-year head coach.
“I can’t control that. If they decide they want someone else in charge, good luck to that person.
“I feel like I have plenty to give. I’m just at the start of my journey. I, with the staff, took the club to some good heights last season and I think we can build on that.
“If you’re talking about being realistic where we’re at, when you lose seven starters and you’re building, it can’t just be a seamless transition otherwise I wouldn’t be coaching here, I’d be coaching somewhere else. It takes time.
“John (Aloisi) has done well this season. Last season everyone was writing him off and questioning what the club is doing. They recruited well and now this season deservedly they’re in the position they are. We can definitely do that.
“It’s a process. It’s unrealistic to think we can do the same things what we did that last season, especially with the amount of injuries and inexperienced players we brought in.
“But I guess the ownership need to make that assessment.”
