Clayton Zane: What I could have done better
By JAMES GARDINER
May 8, 2014, 7:03 a.m.
CLAYTON Zane’s 12-week term in charge of the Jets has strengthened his ambition to be a headcoach, but the former Socceroo admits he has a lot to learn.
Thrown in at the deep end after the dismissal of Gary van Egmond in January, Zane guided the Jets to five wins, five losses and two draws to just miss a place in the A-League finals.
The caretaker role was his first senior appointment, apart from a season at the helm of theJetsW-League side.
He was interviewed for the full-time gig, but was overlooked for Phil Stubbins,whom he will now assist.
‘‘For me the biggest thing I take out of it is knowing that I am capable of one day exploring the option of putting my hat back in the ring,’’ he said.
‘‘You need the experience to know that you are capable of doing it. Knowing people can believe in you.
‘‘It all happened so quick. Now I have had time to go away and reflect, think about what I did OK and what I could have done better.
‘‘It is not like they have brought in another young coach who doesn’t have experience.
‘‘Phil has been on their radar for sometime. They spoke very highly of him when he missed out on the job to Gary in 2011.’’
Zane met with Stubbins on Monday and again yesterday to start planning for next season, where the Jets will be aiming to end a four season finals drought.
‘‘He seems a very good communicator.He is very calm, a deep thinker, but I can see an intense side as well. Once he steps over the white line he will really drive the group on.’’
Zane said Stubbins had come through the Australian Institute of Sport ‘‘like Gary’’.
‘‘Coaches that come out of theAIS have a really clear direction of where they want to go.
‘‘Phil will be the same, he will have his own ideas, which will be different to Gary.
‘‘I need to be around someone different. I had a couple of good years under Gary and Deansy.’’
Zane said it would be good to hear a fresh voice.
‘‘I have never done the assistant role,’’ Zane said.
‘‘I bypassed a huge part of it. ‘‘There are a lot of details to look after.You are almost mopping up anything the first team coach misses – taking care of the little details and making sure nothing is missed.
‘‘I’m really looking forward to having a crack at that.’’
Both Stubbins and Zane are headed to the United Kingdom in the next week.
Zane, whose father-in-law is vice president at Chelsea FC, will mix business with pleasure.
‘‘The trip is mainly to visit family,’’ said Zane, whose wife gave birth to their second child two months ago .
‘‘I’m going to the FACup final and an England match, and will also catch up with some people I had made contact with depending on which way the role went.
‘‘Phil is heading over as well and has some players and contacts he is meeting.
‘‘The plan is to get together at some point.’’
Meanwhile, tickets for the Asian Cup, in which Hunter Stadium will host four games including a semifinal, went on sale to the football family yesterday.
Venue packs, which offer big discounts to fans watching all matches in one host city, are now available.
Individual tickets start from $5 for kids and $15 for adults and go on sale to the football family on May 27 and to the public on June 2.
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