Soccer: Phoenix in market for four new recruits

Paul Ifill. Photo / Paul Taylor

Wellington Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick has prioritised four signings to strengthen his squad.

Merrick has put a versatile defender, two midfielders and a striker on his 2014-15 shopping list, though the latter will also depend on what unfolds with the out-of-contract Stein Huysegems and Paul Ifill.

Huysegems is understood to be asking for more than the Phoenix can offer, while the 34-year-old Ifill faces an uncertain future after rupturing an Achilles tendon this season.

"It won't be anything like last year," says Merrick. "I signed 12 players - more than half of the squad were new players. I'm happy with the squad we have got but we do need to add some experience."

He hopes to have the full squad in place by June, when the Phoenix begin their pre-season preparations.

"In my experience, pre-season is absolutely vital," says Merrick. "We want to have the vast majority of players locked in and ready to go when we assemble in June. This year that wasn't the case - only five or six of our starting eleven of the last few weeks completed a full pre-season - and it makes a difference."

The Phoenix are set to play in Asia later this year, as well as a first trip to the Islands.

As this season comes to an anticlimactic end, plans are being put in place for the next. The club wants an extended pre-season of 12 to 15 games before the season starts in October.

These will include two overseas tours: one to Asia, with China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan among the destinations being discussed, and another to the Pacific, with up to two games to be arranged in the Islands.

The obvious choice is Fiji. Phoenix striker Roy Krishna is a national hero there and the visit could unearth potential players and build closer links with Oceania.

Asia offers a chance to forge relationships with clubs and also offers marketing opportunities, especially for sponsor Huawei.

The club will also face A-League opposition before the season starts, as well as expected games against an All Whites 'A' side.

The Phoenix's pre-season schedule has varied widely over the years. In the first two seasons, the team competed in the A-League Challenge Cup, topping their group in 2008 before losing to Melbourne Victory on penalties in the final.

Before the 2009-10 season, then-coach Ricki Herbert took his team to China, where they played games against Tianjin Teda and Guangzhou Evergrande, now coached by Marcello Lippi. They ended up signing Tianjin striker Jiang Chen on a highly unsuccessful loan spell.

The next pre-season campaign was most memorable for the visit of Argentinian giants Boca Juniors. Aside from a well received 2-1 win, the other highlight of their visit was broadcaster Willie Lose indignantly wondering why Boca "didn't send their senior team".

In 2011, the Phoenix faced local and Australian opposition in their nine match pre-season campaign but the following year, the team embarked on a four-game tour of India before season kickoff.