New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell believes there will be “no lack of interest” from candidates willing to replace Danny Hay as All Whites head coach.
It was announced today that Hay had declined to reapply for his role when his contract ends on October 31.
Instead, a replacement will fill a position that will include the qualification process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Following the expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, the All Whites will qualify for the tournament in the United States should they top the Oceania group, as expected.
In the role since 2019, Hay’s side narrowly missed qualification for this year's World Cup in Qatar in a controversial loss to Costa Rica.
NZ Football said Hay was invited to reapply for the position, but declined.
“At the end of the day it’s his call [not to apply], I’m not going to interrogate him on those reasons, but I think it’s critical that we look hard and long at some of those and make sure we get it right for the next cycle,” Pragnell told 1News.
“There isn’t any history of renewing contracts when we haven’t qualified [for World Cups]. We obviously wanted to qualify.
“Performances are what they are at the moment, we’ve got the greatest single group of talent of football there, individual talent waiting to be maximised if you like. And I think we need to make some adjustments to make sure that environment’s right for them. There was an opportunity to test that, and it’s only right that we go to market.”
Hay has been in a stand-off with the national body over a lack of matches for the team, with none planned until at least March 2023.
Absolute pleasure
Hay said in a separate statement that the past three years had been "an absolute pleasure".
"Being a part of the development and implementation of a cultural process for the All Whites that allows players and staff to connect deeply back to Aotearoa New Zealand, and each other, is something that I'm incredibly proud of," Hay said.
Skipper Chris Wood has also previously revealed a strained relationship with New Zealand Football, including complaining that he and other senior players had not been listened to.
The All Whites will need to find a new coach despite the players wanting Hay to stay in charge. (Source: 1News)
Pragnell said “there’s a wide spectrum of views” from the playing group.
“The one thing I’ve heard loud and clear from the players is they want regular consistent fixtures and we’re doing that, starting March…”
Told that the All Whites aren’t playing in November, a bone of contention for Hay, Wood and the senior players, Pragnell replied: “Yeah, so I think there are some anomalies with November.
“It’s a pre-World Cup release period, it’s not a FIFA window, we’ve gone over budget in this year. The key is that we’re actually resourced for the full World Cup cycle.”
Pragnell added: “There is a need to change some of the communication style, there are some elements that are obviously impacting on performance.”
Hay's departure is unlikely to go down well with the team, with Newcastle striker Wood saying after NZ's 2-0 defeat by Australia in Auckland that it would be "an absolute detriment" if they lost him.
“You can see how much he's changed this team in 12 months,” he said “Can you imagine what he can do in four years?
“Without a shadow of a doubt I want him here, the team wants him here. We play better football under him and if we let him go, I think it will be an absolute detriment to New Zealand football.”
At the time, Hay said he hadn’t heard from New Zealand Football about a contract extension.
NZ Football also released recommendations from a post-qualification campaign debrief, including reviewing how All Whites staff work with NZF's high performance department, and having the team play in every FIFA window.
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