New Head Coach of the Wellington Phoenix, Mark Rudan, today announced his first signing with Chris Greenacre being confirmed as his Assistant Coach.

Chris Greenacre who has been at the Phoenix for nine years – three years as a player and six as a Coach - brings a wealth of experience and strong relationships to the role.

Rudan said for him it was a no-brainer for him to look to Greenacre to fill the Assistant Coach role.

“Chris’ knowledge of Wellington and New Zealand football is excellent and he has done a wonderful job in the club’s Youth Programme which has seen players like Sarpreet Singh and Libby Cacace progress through to full and very promising professionals.

‘’He has a very good working relationship with players and support staff at the club and his three stints as interim manager means he has a very good knowledge of the challenges of managing in the A-League as well.

‘’Importantly for me as I look to rebuild, is that I could not find one single person who had a bad word to say about Chris.

‘’He is extremely well respected by everyone he has worked with and I look forward to us building a winning mentality and culture at Wellington.’’

Greenacre said he was thrilled to be offered the role alongside Rudan and that they had similar philosophies on how to get the best out of the club.

“I have spoken to Mark a number of times over the last few weeks and have been thoroughly impressed with his vision and hunger to bring success to Wellington.

‘’I am 100% behind Mark and what he wants to achieve – we are aligned on what we need to do to achieve something special.

‘’We have already begun work on player signings, our pre-season plan and how we are going to attack the A-League this season.

‘’I can’t wait to get stuck in and help bring Mark’s winning mentality and drive for excellence to the squad here.’’

Due to the time commitments associated with the Assistant Coach role at the club, Chris has informed New Zealand Football that he cannot assume the role of Assistant Coach of the New Zealand Under 20s as well. Chris has passed on his thanks to New Zealand Football for the opportunity and wishes the U20s the very best in their upcoming campaign.