Chiefy discusses his future with Phoenix following derby defeat: Here’s what he revealed

The head coach of Wellington Phoenix, Giancarlo ‘Chiefy’ Italiano, has expressed his desire to remain in charge of the Isuzu UTE A-League club for the upcoming season.

This statement came after Wellington faced a hefty 6-1 defeat against their rivals and current league leaders, Auckland FC, in front of a sold-out audience at Go Media Stadium on Saturday.

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Italiano, now in his second year as coach, is under contract until the end of the 2024-25 season, following a debut campaign that saw the Phoenix narrowly miss out on both the Premiership and a spot in the Grand Final.

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At present, Wellington sits in 11th place, seven points adrift of the top six, after a difficult off-season that saw key players such as Alex Paulsen, Ben Old, and Finn Surman head overseas.

“As long as we’re not mathematically eliminated, we’ll keep pushing forward,” Italiano remarked to the media.

“When the maths no longer favours us, I’ll continue to implement the same style and prepare the team for the next season.”

In response to a follow-up question about his future at the Phoenix, Italiano replied with a grin, “Yes, my intention is to be here next year.”

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Despite the team’s current position outside of finals contention, Italiano remains optimistic about Wellington’s chances of breaking into the top six.

“We’re certainly still in contention,” he asserted. “I choose to remain hopeful.”

“There has never been a point in the season when I’ve thrown in the towel. It’s about inspiring the group and ensuring they maintain their spirit and morale.”

“At half-time, it would have been easy to give up. At 3-0 down, many teams might play it safe. But we opted to stay aggressive.”

“We demonstrated some really promising play today that we haven’t seen in a while, which was exciting. It’s about showing the players that if we can perform like this consistently, there’s still plenty to fight for.”