All Whites coach Ricki Herbert. Photo / Brett Phibbs
All Whites coach Ricki Herbert says he wouldn't do anything differently at the Oceania Nations Cup football tournament, despite finishing third and failing to qualify for next year's Confederations Cup.
The All Whites rounded off their tournament with a 4-3 win over the Solomon Islands today but it was little consolation from what was a failed campaign.
They were unconvincing throughout their group games, scraping past Fiji and Papua New Guinea and drawing with the Solomon Islands before being toppled by New Caledonia 2-0 in Friday's semifinal.
Herbert has come under fire from a disbelieving New Zealand public but said he wouldn't do anything differently.
"I probably wouldn't," he said. "A tournament like this comes down to 90 minutes five times. That's the area we haven't got right and it's the area that only matters at the end of the day.
"They were disappointing performances. It was under-par. No one is looking to hide from that. We are all putting our hands up. I'm putting mine up. You can't take away that New Caledonia deserved to win that game."
It could be argued a number of things could be reviewed, ranging from the preparation to tactics and examination of the opposition.
The players have copped their share of blame from Herbert - "we had a senior side out [against New Caledonia] that let us down," he said today - but the coach isn't immune.
New Zealand Football have said his job is safe but failure to win the home-and-away qualifiers can't be tolerated (although Herbert has signalled he will step aside regardless of what happens).
The difficult conditions were a big factor in the Horror of Honiara but their preparations might not have helped.
The All Whites beat Honduras 1-0 and drew with El Salvador 2-2 immediately prior to the Nations Cup. These were seen as great results at the time against sides they could potentially meet in an intercontinental playoff but the schedule meant they turned up in Honiara tired and only two days before the tournament started.
Herbert felt his side needed to play games, given many in his squad hadn't played for at least a month, but a week in somewhere like Brisbane before travelling to Honiara a few days before the Nations Cup might have helped given it takes about 10 days to acclimatise properly.
Of course, it will be even more difficult in the upcoming home-and-away playoffs because they are played in short Fifa windows and the All Whites are scattered around the globe.
Tactically, playing three at the back, and three who lack the pace of many of the island players, made them vulnerable in the difficult conditions.
Interestingly, no one from the coaching staff was at last year's Pacific Games in Noumea scouting oppositions teams - Herbert went to the 2007 tournament in Samoa.
"These island teams are getting better, there's no doubting that," striker Shane Smelltz said. "We need to up our preparation and application to these games. You can't come here and take it easy. I'm not saying that's what we did, because we certainly didn't do that. We have to go back to the drawing board and make sure we do things right next time."
It's been said New Zealand should have hosted the tournament but they didn't put a bid in because they had been told they wouldn't have got it anyway.
The tournament is also condensed because of costs and the fact many players have to take time off work - it's the reality of football in Oceania.
It's a brutal format but the same for every side.
"A fair reflection of international football is when you play home and away and we will get that," Herbert said. "If we are good enough we will get through for the [intercontinental] playoff. I think that's how you judge everybody."