A stressed-out Greatholder stood down for a month before Christmas when Central Football, who Angell works for as regional development manager, approached Angell to be interim coach.
However, sources revealed the squad had shown dissent towards the interim coach during training sessions last summer.
Some also were affronted that Angell had questioned the team's constitution.
So did Angell raise the issue of the squad lacking "culture"?
"If you look at it, was it something I thought or was it, should we say, analysing what we might potentially get back [from the players].
"In hindsight it was probably not the right environment I would have opt to come in."
Angell says Greatholder was having some issues that needed a little time to sort out.
The franchise approached him last month with a view to coaching the flagship team but last summer he had thought hard about his short-term input in the interim.
"My feeling was I was willing to sit in rather than make a rushed decision that I may have potentially regretted in a couple of months."
He stipulated that because of his Central Football role he wasn't potentially going to be available on the sideline as interim coach on game days.
"Obviously, the two [coaching] sessions I had - that's all I had - were what all this was based around."
Angell feels the squad were always receptive but were "a close-knit group", which they still are.
"I understand that and I respect that. But it may have been that certain individuals had issues on why I was around there.
"Sometimes if people really think through what they're saying [they realise it] may not be the best because sometimes the mouth works quicker than the brain.
"Two sessions are all I had and they created opinions from that."
Angell denies imposing wholesale changes on the squad over that time last summer but feels he had made suggestions that could "potentially aid them".
"Like anything, you are going to need more than two sessions to change things."
He doesn't regret the decision to step into Greatholder's shoes but "the difficulties that stem from it are potentially out of context of what it is".
"I don't know what it is but obviously a lot of opinions got formed out of that environment and they may have run away with their own thinking on what was going to happen."
He feels "it is the world's worst time to be taking on a group that has basically achieved what it has" in the past two seasons.
"I've been given the opportunity to help it and move it forward.
"Whether we can, I don't know. All I can say is I'll work as hard as I possibly can," Angell says, hoping his support staff and players will meet him at some juncture to attain a level of success.
"Previously Chris came in ... didn't have the credentials but from a managing point of view galvanised the group to achieve more than the previous ones [coaches Jonathan Gould and Matt Chandler]," he says, feeling his situation was no different to that of Greatholder who attained his licence after New Zealand Football granted the franchise dispensation two summers ago when Chandler left abruptly.
