Veart: Behind-the-scenes factors weighed down Reds
Outgoing Adelaide coach Carl Veart has hinted at behind-the-scenes distractions that hamstrung his side's season, with the announcement of his exit a “final straw” for much of the playing group.
His half-decade tenure perhaps at its end, outgoing Adelaide United boss Carl Veart says that behind-the-scenes distractions weighed heavily on his side during their swoon in the second half of the A-League Men campaign, with the announcement of his departure a “final straw” for much of the playing group.
Making the trek to AAMI Park on Saturday evening for their final game of their regular season slate, the Reds were able to hold on for a scoreless stalemate with Melbourne City – 20-year-old keeper Max Vartuli almost single-handedly salvaging his side a point as the hosts sent in 17 shots to six. A share of the spoils, however, probably wasn’t enough for their finals hopes.
While the draw did move Adelaide to 38 points and back into the top six, seventh-placed Sydney, who currently possess 36 points and whose goal difference is 14 superior to their South Australian rivals, will only require a point from their final two games – against Western United on Sunday and City next week – to supplant them.
A second-straight year outside the playoffs would represent a remarkable slide in fortunes for the Reds, who sat on top of the league as recently as late January, only to experience a slump that saw them pick up wins in just two of their last 14 fixtures.
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“There was a few things that have gone on behind the scenes that have distracted the players,” Veart, quizzed on this downturn, reflected.
“In the end, I suppose they didn't help with some of the things that did happen. And you only have to look at the performance of the players, how they dropped off.
“I know the reasons why, and maybe one day they'll come out.”.
First appointed as a caretaker during the hub-based conclusion to the 2019-2020 season, Veart’s tenure as Adelaide boss was ultimately ended by his side’s collapse down the table, with it announced earlier this month that he would see out the season before departing.
A heavy 4-1 defeat against league cellar-dwellers Perth Glory immediately followed, and while there were hopes of a bounce-back after a 3-2 win over an out-of-sorts Wellington, that was followed by draws with Brisbane and City that, in all likelihood, will cost them finals football.
"I think that was the final straw for the playing group,” said Veart. “You can see that they're quite emotionally drained, the playing group.
“It's been a tough couple of months for them. Tonight, I thought they dug deep and fought and gave everything for possibly two of the older players that might be moving on [Spaniards Isaías and Javi López].
After making the call to part ways with the club legend, the task of replacing Veart in the dugout appears as if it will ultimately come down to Dutch owner Cor Adriaanse and technical director, Ernest Faber.
A former PSV Eindhoven legend, Faber arrived in Adelaide in May, just months after a formal partnership between the Dutch club and the Reds was formalised.
Rumours have consistently swirled amongst league figures that the four-time Eredivisie champion and Veart have clashed throughout the season, with the announcement that the latter would not be returning next season ending weeks of speculation surrounding his tenure.
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City coach Aurelio Vidmar, a friend of Veart and a fellow South Australian, voiced his hope during the build-up to Saturday’s fixture that the 54-year-old would not be lost to the game, and Veart confirmed post-game that he wished to continue coaching in the future.
And if Saturday did prove to be his last game in charge of the Reds, the Whyalla native hoped that further investment, both materially and in the culture that has been built around the club, was on the way.
“I keep saying, we've got to make sure that what we've created so far with the young players, that we still keep that,” he said. “It's important that we provide the right senior players around them to be able to give them success; as long as they can recruit some good senior players to come in, because we're gonna lose a few from this season, I think they can have more success next year.
“Some of the younger players that have come in this year have done exceptionally well, and we've got a couple more younger players that we've given debuts to earlier this year that will kick on again next year as well.
“So it's just a matter of putting more resources around those players. And that's something that the club has to look at improving: the resources at the club. Because we haven't done anything in my whole time there with the training ground or anything like that.
“So it's important that we put the resources around the younger players that we’ve got coming through to give them the best chance to have success.”