How things have changed. The Phoenix top the A-League ahead of tonight's clash with the Brisbane Roar. They have won more games (12) than any other team, including a club record six away, and have scored 39 goals, behind only Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC.
The past few weeks have illustrated the turnaround. Against top-four rivals Adelaide two weeks ago, they finally took the lead in the 79th minute, then went for the jugular, killing the game off with a second goal four minutes later. Last Saturday, instead of settling for a point in their top-of-the-table clash with Perth, they pushed for the winner and got their reward with Roy Krishna's late goal.
It's one illustration of Merrick's impact. The former Victory coach arrived in the capital in June 2013, amid little fanfare, with some Australian media hinting that his methods were outdated. History has proven them wrong.
"He's transformed the club," Durante says. "Not just how we train and play, but in other areas like medical, sports science, travel and even down to the gear we wear. He leaves no stone unturned."
Travel is a pertinent example. The team used to fly two or three days before a match across the Tasman, and often depart Australia the afternoon after gameday. Now they arrive on match eve, and fly out as soon as possible the next day.
"It's a little thing but it seems to help," Durante says. "Our away record is not talked about any more."
Merrick's first season was inauspicious. Something was obviously building but results were fickle, with a 10-game winless run to start the season and only two points from their last seven matches to finish ninth.
"A lot of coaches don't get past that first year," Merrick says. "I was fortunate to have a chairman and board that understood it was going to take time and gave that stability. The fans also deserve credit - they were patient and positive and that can make a big difference."
Merrick arrived with definite ideas on how he wanted to play, and turned over a lot of players who were never going to fit into the system. He kept faith with his attacking, possession-based game plan and strategy - even during the difficult start to last season - and always avoids publicly criticising his players.
The 62-year-old rarely flies off the handle and is usually very quiet in the dressing room after a bad loss, waiting until the following week to deliver home truths.
Merrick is not afraid of making the hard decisions, willing to cut his losses with Carlos Hernandez when the mercurial Costa Rican became a handful off the field. He also has an eye for talent. He realised the potential in Krishna and helped to take Albert Riera's game to another level. Merrick saw gold in Nathan Burns and bold moves for Roly Bonevacia and Alex Rodriguez have paid off. Perhaps most importantly of all, his measured, positive approach seems to infuse the players with confidence.
"Before we played Western Sydney [last year], he kept telling us we were going to go out and score four goals," Durante says. "I don't know if anyone believed him - they were defending champions and we hadn't scored much against them (three goals in five games). But we went out and got three, and could have had more."
Merrick's team have a tough run-in, with two matches against Sydney FC and a game with Melbourne Victory still to come.
"We haven't won or qualified for anything yet," Merrick cautions. "But it is very rewarding to see the squad we have built perform so well. And there is more to come."
Phoenix under Merrick
• First away win over Melbourne Victory.
• First away win over Western Sydney Wanderers.
• First time Phoenix have topped the table at the end of a round.
• With two matches across the Tasman still to play, the Phoenix already have six victories in Australia. The previous season-best was four, with a historical average of less than three.
• Have already equalled season record number of goals (39) and wins (12) with six games remaining.
• Eight former ASB Premiership players have had match time.
