Michael Brown: Bigger things await Herbert

Ricki Herbert has fielded offers to coach overseas but he can achieve even more at the World Cup. Photo / Getty Images

Ricki Herbert should leave New Zealand as soon as he can.

This is not to suggest we don't want him here. The All Whites coach has played a leading hand in the renaissance of New Zealand football over the past 12 months at both club and international level and would be sorely missed.

But the 49-year-old needs to leave these shores if he wants to become a top-level coach. He has outgrown New Zealand and this is his time.

His stocks couldn't be any higher than they are now. He's guided the All Whites to their first World Cup since 1982, a tournament he played in, and overseen a handful of memorable results, like last weekend's 1-0 win over Serbia. He's also taken the Wellington Phoenix from wooden spooners to one game short of the A-League grand final.

Herbert admitted before the All Whites left New Zealand for Australia and Austria that he had fielded offers to coach overseas. They were tempting but he was right to sit on these, with the chance to achieve even more at the World Cup.

If he can have a good tournament then he will become a target for clubs and national associations. His most likely suitors would come from Asia or the Middle East but it's not out of the question that English League One and lower level Championship clubs might take an interest.

Herbert has good connections in the UK. He played as a professional for Wolves in the 1980s and graduated with a Uefa pro licence (the highest qualification coaches can get) along with classmate Roy Keane.

The pair have kept in touch since and Keane spent a week with the All Blacks, thanks to Herbert. He also spent time with Gareth Southgate when the latter was Middlesbrough manager.

England would excite Herbert. It is the centre of the footballing world and would allow him the chance to progress up the coaching ladder.

Asia and the Middle East would provide financial rewards. Herbert earns $50,000 as New Zealand coach on top of the estimated $150,000 he banks as Phoenix boss.

While this means he enjoys a comfortable living, it is not lucrative in football terms.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has recently been linked with a move to Dubai club side Al Alhi, who play in the UAE league and who last week signed Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro. Redknapp is thought to earn about £2 million ($4.2 million) annually at Tottenham, meaning Al Alhi would need to significantly better this to get their man.

Herbert can't expect anything like this amount, but it's not unrealistic to think he could earn US$1 million ($1.4 million) a year as either a club or national coach of a Middle Eastern side.

He needs to cash in now, because he could be forgotten in 12 months. Little attention is paid to the A-League outside Australasia and the All Whites could well be inactive for two years after the World Cup. There are no guarantees he will still be Phoenix coach in four years, let alone national coach.

His All Whites contract expires at the end of the World Cup and he has one more year to run on his Phoenix contract. That's not a lot of certainty.

Wellington owner Terry Serepisos is not entirely happy that Herbert is also national coach and is said to want his services exclusively after the World Cup.

Outgoing Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata said they would meet with Herbert after the World Cup but they would reluctantly let him go if a good offer came in for him.

"It's like any player who has an opportunity to do bigger and better things," Pignata said.

"We wouldn't want to lose Ricki because what he's achieved is nothing short of remarkable but if it was a chance for him to further his career, then I don't think we would ever stand in his way."

New Zealand Football are likely to retain Herbert if he wants the job but they will advertise the position in the off-chance a Guus Hiddink wants a lifestyle job in this country.

They have had informal discussions with Herbert about his role beyond the World Cup but aren't in a position to offer him anything until they have formalised their high performance plan for the next four years.

"The reality is that the All Whites, in a good year, might play five times, so that isn't a full-time role," New Zealand Football chief executive Michael Glading said.

"We then need to work out what the role is. We can't do anything until we have worked our high performance plan. We are aware that we run the risk of losing him but that's where it's important to have open dialogue with Ricki."

Of course, it's up to Herbert to work out what he wants from the game. He enjoys a high public profile in this country and, if he's happy enough with that, then he should stay. If he wants to see how far he can go as a coach, then he must leave.

It would be a waste if he settled for what he has at the moment. He needs to leave and only return when he wants to settle back down here and perhaps even take the national side again.

New Zealand football fans should embrace the fact they might lose Herbert. It's just like Ryan Nelsen playing in the Premiership and no one would begrudge him that.