Phoenix appoint Buckingham, Greenacre as co-coaches

Des Buckingham and Chris Greenacre have been appointed co-coaches of Wellington Phoenix until the end of the A-League season.

Buckingham, who holds a Pro license, will be head coach under Football Federation Australia (FFA) regulations, while former Phoenix striker Greenacre will be co-coach with his A License following Monday’s announcement.

Appointed on an interim basis after Ernie Merrick’s resignation four weeks ago, the pair have overseen a four-match unbeaten streak since taking the reins.

The Phoenix played out a scoreless draw with lowly defending champions Adelaide United on Sunday, with Wellington only two points outside of the top six and the finals places after 12 matches.

“I still think this team is capable of making the top four which was our aim at the start of the season,” Buckingham said looking ahead to Thursday’s match against Perth Glory.

“It is good that we have gone four games unbeaten, which I’ve been told hasn’t happened since February 2015, but we could have won all three with a bit of luck.

“We have been handed a fantastic challenge and have been fortunate to have worked with Ernie Merrick who upskilled us and exposed us to a lot of stuff that wouldn’t have happened with other coaches at other clubs.”

Greenacre added: “To lose our mentor was tough but that is the nature of the game of football and it has presented us with a fantastic challenge and life is all about challenges.”