After guiding his team through a pre-season friendly against the Central Coast Mariners in Tauranga today, Herbert's focus will no doubt switch to getting acquainted with his new employers over the coming weeks.
The new five-year licence granted to the consortium means they are freed of liabilities from the Serepisos era. In theory, Welnix can still pay Herbert's and other owings - but they are not obliged to and it is not known whether they will.
Herbert met Morgan for the first time on Friday - 10 minutes before their press conference - and said he has never met the other six members of the consortium.
Meanwhile, former Phoenix CEO Tony Pignata is positive about the Phoenix's future but hopes the new owners don't fall into the trap of running the Wellington club strictly as a business.
He is also concerned about the lack of football knowledge within the 'Phoenix Seven', saying there needs to be someone near the top with a good grasp of the sport.
The group of seven Wellington business people - now known as the Welnix Ltd consortium - were unveiled on Friday as the new holders of the Phoenix licence after former owner Terry Serepisos was forced to give up control.
The consortium is headed by Kiwibank chairman Rob Morrison and includes Morgan, Lloyd Morrison, Campbell Gower, James Brow, Henry Tait and Lib Petagna.
The decision has brought closure and clarity on one level but Pignata is warning of some obvious pitfalls. Club CEO for the first three seasons, he says corporate minds don't always meld into matters of sport.
"They need someone at the top who has a good football knowledge and some sort of understanding of the game," says Pignata. "If not, they need to allow someone to come into the club to help in that area. Despite what people say, running a football club is totally different to running a business.
"From a commercial point of view, it can be similar in terms of dollars and cents but it becomes totally different when it comes to recruiting players and everything from the football ground up.
"There is a lot of emotion in the club; everything depends on those three points each week and it affects the mood of the fans, the media and club. It is how you deal with that that makes a successful club and the owners have to realise that as well."
The group, who have made a five-year commitment to the FFA, emphasised on Friday they would be looking for the club to make money and this was not a "charity move". Pignata agrees with this goal but says the football needs to come first.
"I hope they have a good understanding of what it takes to run a football club and they will know you are not going to make money out of it from day one; it is an investment and ultimately in years to come, they can start breaking even.
"They just need to make sure they get the right elements in their boardroom that want to focus on football and winning games. If they do that, everything else will take care of itself; sponsors will come, fans will flock, members will come and the club will move forward."
The acid test will come when big decisions need to be made around retention, recruitment and future planning, and he hopes the group can maintain a unified, clear direction, even when the going gets tough.
"It is critical that they move forward in one unified approach," says Pignata. "Everyone who sits around the table needs to have one common goal going forward.
"If they start having their own separate ideas on how the club should run from a player recruitment point of view and staffing, it will fall over. I am pretty sure that won't happen - they would have had a lot of discussions prior to this and it would have been a massive decision for them."
Meanwhile, former All White Harry Ngata feels the situation can only be positive for the playing group. Ngata was part of Phoenix predecessors the Football Kingz, who endured a series of off-field problems.
"Mentally, it is draining and it can become monotonous," says Ngata. "Players are professional and know they can only change things on the park but it certainly doesn't help matters when you are wondering about your source of income."
He adds that while the Phoenix are way behind most clubs in terms of recruitment, at least now they will have the means to get things rolling.
"The basis of quality is there," says Ngata. "Ideally they still need an out-and-out goal scorer, a creative midfielder and a centre back."
Welnix Ltd have inherited a club with 17 professionals signed up; they need at least 20 confirmed by the start of the A-League season on October 9.
Coach Ricki Herbert is said to be in discussions with three European-based strikers and hopes to agree terms with one by the beginning of October.
Meanwhile, Serepisos leaves a twin legacy. His bold gamble in 2007 - when the club had no players, management staff, sponsors or training ground - saved professional football in this country and also aided immeasurably the All Whites' results over the past three years.
The achievements of 2009-10, when the Phoenix came within one game of the A-League grand final on the back of three consecutive victories at a sold-out Wellington stadium, will never be forgotten by football people in this country.
