Both NZFC finalists hunting for coaches

Auckland City and Waitakere United are looking for coaches, despite being the top two teams in the NZFC.

Paul Posa said when he took over at Auckland from Colin Tuaa in December that he would do it only until the end of the season and he hasn't been swayed. The position has been advertised and applications close tomorrow.

Chris Milicich's position at Waitakere is also up for grabs. His two-year contract expires at the end of June and the club will this week call for applications. Waitakere chairman Rex Dawkins said they hoped to have a coach confirmed by the end of the month.

In a curious twist, Milicich could end up on both clubs' shortlist.

Although he delivered unprecedented success to Waitakere last season, winning the NZFC and O-League, the defending champions were tripped up this season by Auckland City in the NZFC final and O-League pool play and his position has constantly come under scrutiny.

Milicich was reluctant to discuss his predicament but said he expected to continue as a professional coach somewhere.

"I will be continuing to coach at [NZFC] level or higher," he said. "I am not going to guess either way what will happen. We will just have to wait and see."

Dawkins said there was nothing sinister in asking Milicich to reapply. "We will take the job to the market," he said. "If we lose Chris in the meantime, we will move on."

The Auckland and Waitakere positions are arguably the best in the league, given the resources available to both clubs, but also come with the most pressure.

Since Allan Jones left at the end of 2006-07, after delivering three consecutive NZFC titles, Auckland have been through four coaches - Roger Wilkinson, Paul Marshall, Tuaa and Posa.

Steve Cain departed Waitakere at the end of 2006-07, even though Waitakere won the O-League and minor premiership.

Posa will leave Auckland in good shape. They are destined for the Club World Cup, after dispatching Solomon Islanders Koloale 7-2 in last weekend's O-League final first leg. The second leg is today. He also delivered the NZFC title, when City upset Waitakere 2-1 in the final and backed that with a 3-1 win over Waitakere the following week to qualify for the O-League final.

The usual candidates have been talked about as options for both jobs - Milicich, Marshall, Stu Jacobs, Willy Gerdsen, Sean Douglas and Ramon Tribulietx, while Danny Hay and Neil Emblen could be options at Waitakere.