Thursday, 19 April 2018:
 | | Wanderers coach JOSEP GOMBAU talks to players during a Western Sydney Wanderers A-League training session at Blacktown International Sportspark in Sydney, Australia. | |
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Western Sydney have all but ruled out a Tony Popovic return as they search for a new coach to restore the club as an A-League powerhouse.
With plenty of options abroad, local free agent Paul Okon also shapes as a candidate to reverse the deterioration during Josep Gombau's ill-fated tenure.
The Wanderers sacked Gombau on Thursday, less than six months into his three-year contract, facing the critical decision of installing his successor.
Popovic's return to Australia after his short-lived stint in Turkey has ignited speculation the highly successful foundation coach could turn prodigal son.
But it's believed the board are unlikely to entertain re-hiring the man who walked out on the eve of the season and created uncertainty in the first place.
Although there is ample time to get this appointment right, it's believed some European coaches are being looked at already .
Former Central Coast coach Okon is also on the lookout for a job after walking away from the Mariners.
The western Sydney-born former Socceroo would be a seamless fit with the club's culture, one yearning for direction after a hugely disrupted season on and off the field.
Wanderers chief executive John Tsatsimas broke the news on Thursday morning to Gombau, four days after the Wanderers failed to make the finals in his first season in charge.
A short club statement said the call had been made "following a review of the season", one in which Gombau was found to have repeatedly reneged on the overtures that won him the job in the first place.
They included his apparent desire to develop young players, as evidenced by his tenure as Olyroos boss, and his ability to instil his signature possession-based playing with the team he was given.
The shortfalls became apparent in the lack of youth players promoted to the first team and Gombau's requests to sign further players, who'd been successful under his philosophy at Adelaide United, having already brought in Marcelo Carrusca.
A worrying drop-off in the squad's overall fitness was also noted, a stark contrast to Popovic's meticulous approach to sports science.
The erratic results - 10 losses, five draws and seven wins - sparked dressing-room discontent that led to the exit of captain Robbie Cornthwaite and featured falling outs with marquee striker Oriol Riera, Kearyn Baccus and Roly Bonevacia.
Ultimately, the club's top brass were unconvinced of the Spaniard's ability to mount a title challenge next season.
And if scraping into the finals would have saved him, Sunday's muddled 3-2 defeat at home to the Reds was the nail in the coffin.
After that match, veteran striker Brendon Santalab foretold Gombau's imminent departure, warning "something has to change" to re-examine the Wanderers' identity and playing style.
Santalab is one of a clutch of players coming off contract and needing certainty over their future.
The Wanderers have also endured numerous off-season problems, including a suspended points penalty over flares set off by Red and Black Bloc members and the active supporter group's subsequent decision to boycott the last games of the season.
