After Hay received the seven page executive summary on Monday, a phone call was set up with NZF chief executive Andrew Pragnell the following day. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
After Hay received the seven page executive summary on Monday, a phone call was set up with NZF chief executive Andrew Pragnell the following day. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
When the end came for Danny Hay as All Whites coach, it came quickly.
Unlike we have seen in other sports, there wasn't a series of discussions or meetings, or a chance for the incumbent to state his case to the decision makers.
The Herald understands that Hay was emailedthe final executive summary of the independent review into the past Fifa World Cup cycle on Monday.
The review, which was conducted by employment lawyer Don MacKinnon, started in August and involved interviews with more than 40 individuals, from All Whites players, coaches and management, to New Zealand Football staff.
After Hay received the seven-page executive summary on Monday, a phone call was set up with NZF chief executive Andrew Pragnell the following day, giving Hay around 24 hours to digest the final document.
While the review contained some work-ons, there were no major red flags – nothing that might trigger a major overhaul and it's believed that Hay was positive about the upcoming discussion, feeling it would be a chance to talk about the next steps.
But instead the phone call unfolded differently. While Pragnell agreed there were positive elements to the review, which he has also since stated publicly, he also informed Hay that it had been decided that NZF need to advertise the job and they wanted him to apply.
On Tuesday an email was sent to NZF staff informing them of the developments, while players were also contacted that afternoon and overnight, before the media release was issued at 11:34am on Wednesday morning.
Danny Hay talks to Niko Kirwan and Liberato Cacace. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
A number of players were stunned by the decision, while some football staff are said to be pondering their futures. It's believed there was an expectation from some individuals that NZF and the board would look to work with Hay first – to address the findings of the review – and proactively shape the future, rather than a cold cut.
Pragnell defended the process.
"In the last couple of days the debrief has been finished and it was a chance for us to sit down and reflect on it," Pragnell told the Herald. "Danny has been pretty heavily involved in the debrief and has seen some drafts. He is coming off contract and after discussions with the high performance and player welfare committee, we decided we would go to market."
The move to make Hay reapply for the role has been interpreted as a vote of no confidence in the 47-year-old, with the view that he would have been in a no-win situation if he chose to enter the process overseen by the board and NZF hierarchy.
But Pragnell refutes the idea that it was a mere gesture, saying Hay would have been assessed like any other contender.
"It would have been 100 per cent genuine," said Pragnell. "I would've been really encouraged if Danny had reapplied. I actually thought he would reapply and that was going to make for an interesting process. And that was his call."
All Whites head coach Danny Hay watches on during the New Zealand All Whites v Australia Socceroos Homecoming International Football match at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Pragnell added that, along with some issues out of the review, ultimately the failure to qualify for the Fifa World Cup with the playoff defeat to world No 31 Costa Rica meant that they had to advertise the role, to ensure they had the best possible candidate for the upcoming cycle, which may or may not have been Hay.
"If you look at Costa Rica and where it is at now, it's a team that a lot of people would say is past its prime, in terms of where it is at," said Pragnell. "I certainly thought we had the ability and talent to get to the World Cup."
Pragnell said that past precedent had to be considered, when looking at reappointments of All Whites coaches.
"The only history [NZF] have of renewing a coach's contract [automatically] is off the back of a World Cup we qualified for and never lost a game in [2010]," said Pragnell. "We wanted Danny to apply, it was totally his choice and it is what it is in that respect."
Apart from a statement issued on his behalf by NZF on Wednesday, Hay has been unavailable for comment since the decision.
