But Marshall knows how to bring the best out of his troops, having coached Auckland City to a title five seasons ago when even the most ardent of fans would have thrown in the towel.
"We came back from the World Cup champs in Japan and found ourselves sitting in sixth place in the league here, so we had a pretty good second half of the season," he says, adding this summer they had set goals before the premiership kicked off and have incrementally achieved them.
Undefeated and having sealed the minor premiership title last Sunday, Marshall isn't the type to lose sleep even if they had finished fourth, although they have secured the top play-off berth.
"If you finish fourth you're still in with a chance, aren't you? You've just got to keep winning each game."
He lauds Greatholder for doing a great job with selection and the use of resources.
"For Chrissy it must be like a dream come true ..."
Marshall isn't worried if golden boot leader Roy Krishna and others are out.
"We have deep and strong squad," he says, employing an attacking brand of soccer which is more direct than Auckland City.
