Soccer: Herbert has plenty to ponder

Ricki Herbert's men are eighth and just three points outside the top six. Photo / Getty Images

Well, where do you start if you're Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert?

The A-League soccer season is at the halfway mark and, as yet, there is no light at the end of the tunnel for a Phoenix team with myriad issues and increasing pressure from the public and media to turn a disappointing run of form around before the season gets away from them.

Viewing their situation with rose-tinted glasses suggests all is not lost, because Herbert's men are eighth and just three points outside the top six.

But that would ignore their considerable problems, as they head into tomorrow night's crucial match here against Melbourne Heart yet to put together a 90-minute performance.

The pressure is starting to tell, too, with some players reportedly refusing interview requests by certain media outlets after today's training run.

And Herbert was also in defensive mode during a radio interview this morning, and after training, as the critics circle.

Former All White Billy Harris, opining in the Sunday Star-Times last Sunday, was highly critical of the Phoenix's performances and, among other things, suggested Herbert was "too close, too loyal," to his players, who could be "so familiar now that the Kiwi contingent need a new voice, new ideas, to take them to another level".

Herbert told reporters today he was "very supportive" of the players.

"For all the football experts out there they can have their opinion, at the moment it's only mine that counts.

"It's good character building for the players, we're not hiding behind anything.

"It's been a tough year. Sydney won the league last year and they are tickling the bottom a bit further down than we are. Melbourne were in the final and they aren't in a very good position either. Newcastle won it the year before and then finished bottom.

"It's a little bit of a trait and there's only 23 players that can turn it around."

The statistics speak for themselves 15 matches into the 30-round regular season.

Wellington have lost five of their past seven matches, scoring just five goals and conceding 16 in the process.

Overall they are ninth of 11 teams in goals scored (16) and 10th in goals conceded (26).

Their once-reliable home form has capitulated after successive losses to Brisbane and Central Coast, the first time in the club's history they have lost two matches on the trot here.

Their defence is shaky at best but of just as much concern is the goalscoring form of their two leading strikers, Chris Greenacre and Paul Ifill.

There have been 534 minutes of football since Greenacre's last goal, in a 2-2 draw with the Heart here last month, while Ifill has gone 621 minutes since his last, a penalty in the 1-3 loss at Gold Coast on October 1.

Ifill's rut is remarkable given how threatening the import was during his 13-goal season last year, but not so surprising when considering how unimaginative the Phoenix have been this season.

With home matches against the Heart tomorrow and Melbourne Victory on Saturday, teams placed fifth and sixth respectively, Wellington could be right back in the frame by Sunday, or well out of it.

Neither Herbert nor the players have so far come up with an answer to their troubles but one needs to be forthcoming, preferably starting tomorrow against a Heart team which have already had a win (2-1 at home) and draw (2-2 at Wellington) against Wellington this season.

- NZPA