KEY POINTS:
Don't be surprised to hear the Rolling Stones blasting from the Phoenix dressing room before their next match because, like the old rockers, they need to Start Me Up and never stop.
The Wellington side might have come back from a two-goal deficit against Melbourne a week ago but handing a 3-0 headstart to the Central Coast Mariners on Friday night was asking far too much.
Defensive naivety gifted the home side their handy lead and, while the Phoenix finished the game the stronger - hitting the woodwork twice and narrowly missing a couple of other good chances - the points had been well decided by then.
Given Wellington have so much to prove and so many doubters to convince, particularly in Australia, the lack of intensity, energy and urgency in the opening 45 minutes was baffling.
Coach Ricki Herbert and his captain Ross Aloisi hinted that some players might have still had their minds on what they achieved five days previously.
"Sometimes you don't want to say anything before a game but you see certain things," Aloisi said. "We need to be switched on more. It's a good wake-up call for us."
Of course, the Phoenix are playing with the burden of comparisons to their dreadfully inept forerunners, the Knights and Kingz, and people will formulate opinions about them quickly. A heavy defeat was the last thing they needed.
Throughout a local radio commentary of Friday's game, they were constantly referred to as New Zealand and compared to the Knights. Even Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna slipped up and called them New Zealand.
"It's going to take time," Herbert conceded. "I'm not going to change my tack. We have a good side and as the year unfolds, people will see that.
"The potential is there and, for spells tonight and last week against Melbourne, we have shown that. It will become a matter of consistency for us."
The Phoenix boss has some personnel decisions to make. Right back is one area of major concern and Steven O'Dor showed he is not the answer. The young Australian is unaccustomed to the position but he had a better second half when moved to the middle of defence.
Steven Old, who missed the match with flu, was handy last weekend without being convincing, while Jeremy Christie is another option.
Brazilian defender Cleberson was also poor on Friday night and was substituted before the hour.
"It will take time," Herbert said. "We can look at some personnel. It might take half a dozen games to work out what our best back four is."
One thing seems certain, though - Herbert doesn't look like discarding his Kevin Keegan-type gameplan of attacking football. While his side lacked penetration in the opening hour, they created chances towards the end of the match and should have scored at least one.
"We can't be a side that plays for only 45 minutes and expect to get a lot out of it," Herbert said.
"There will be other learning curves along the way. These won't be the only mistakes we make but it's how we rectify them."
The result is unlikely to dampen the enthusiasm of Wellingtonians, who will likely turn out in their droves again next weekend for the visit of the Newcastle Jets but the Phoenix will need to get up to speed quickly.
And that's where the Rolling Stones could come in.
