The FFA has sacked Matildas head coach Alen Stajcic, following an internal review into the national team.

For many, this decision — coming less than five months before the World Cup — will come as a surprise, given the Matildas’ success in recent years.

But Australia’s recent good fortune on the world stage largely papered over the cracks of a toxic environment that had produced long-running discontent.

MATILDAS COACH SACKED JUST MONTHS BEFORE WORLD CUP

HOW HAS THIS COME ABOUT?

This is a situation that has been brewing for some time.

foxsports.com.au understands the situation escalated on Friday, following an FFA board meeting.

Stajcic confirmed he had departed the role on Saturday morning.

While there have been some reports indicating the move was player-driven, foxsports.com.au understands this was not the case — and the major issues identified were more deep-seated than simply player discontent.

It’s understood the environment had become toxic, with some staff and players often feeling uncomfortable within the Matildas setting.

That said, it is understood a number of players have had issues with the most recent coaching regime.

Despite the underlying problems, the Matildas rose to new heights under Stajcic.

The side made it to the quarter-finals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup and 2016 Olympics, won the 2017 Tournament of Nations, rose to a high of No.4 in the FIFA rankings and made the 2018 Asian Cup final.

And with the likes of Chloe Logarzo and Kyah Simon tweeting about their disappointment in Stajcic’s dismissal, any player discontent with the coach clearly wasn’t unanimous.

Alen Stajcic. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Speaking in the FFA press conference, chief executive David Gallop confirmed the decision to terminate Stajcic’s contract had been made by the FFA board, off the back of confidential surveys conducted with the PFA and Our Watch, combined with discussions with players, staff and coaches.

“The ultimate responsibility for driving change and leading a high-performance environment that puts the team in the best possible position to achieve what they are capable of, rests with the head coach. We no longer have confidence that Alen is the right person to lead the team and staff,” Gallop said in a statement.

This was a situation that had raised concerns among many different parties.

One primary concern of the recently-completed review was the general culture of the Matildas environment, with Gallop saying it was “less than satisfactory.”

“There were workplace issues around the culture of the set-up but it’s difficult to go into specifics,” Gallop said.

The culture issues go beyond Stajcic — though he was of course at the top of the food chain.

There is a general feeling that this situation needed to be addressed for some time, but had only recently escalated, with Gallop saying the situation had “deteriorated in recent months.”

Contrary to some reports, this was not a player-driven coup of sorts. This was a decision made by the FFA board.

Alen Stajcic give instructions. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

“Of course the view of the players is important, but as I said, this is not a decision arrived at by the players, it’s a decision arrived at by us, with the responsibility to set standards in that team and in the set-up around that team and we’ve taken on board a wide range of views, not just the views of the players.” Gallop said.

“I can’t go into the specifics of conversations with players but what I can tell you is that this was arrived at taking into account a broad range of views. Of course the players' views were part of that.”

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

As things stand, Stajcic is the only person to have been stood down.

But it seems unlikely this will be the end of the changes within the Matildas environment.

The FFA has committed to continuing to review the situation.

“FFA is committed to providing the best possible environment for the Westfield Matildas and this change is being made with that objective in mind,” Gallop said.

“We will continue to review other aspects of the team set-up and monitor the Matildas environment in the coming weeks and months as we build for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.”

For the players, it’s now a matter of heading into camp for a two-day workshop.

“The survey results are quite recent, only in the last couple of weeks,” Gallop said.

“The team had already identified that they needed to work on these issues, indeed there’ll be a planned two-day workshop on Monday and Tuesday next week. So that's why things have come to a head.”

Alen Stajcic. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Stajcic has not settled on immediate coaching plans following his dismissal, but has received support from Football Coaches Australia, which said it would facilitate independent legal representation to assist him in exploring his available options.

“Alen is a valued member of FCA and will receive our full support during this difficult period,” FCA president Phil Moss said in a statement.

“We look forward to FFA honouring all of its contractual commitments.”

As for the FFA, attention now turns toward finding a replacement for Stajcic.

“We need to move quickly on that,” Gallop said.

“We’d like to have a coach in place — the Cup of Nations is about a month away and it’s a very important preparation tournament.

“Obviously we need someone who can set the right culture, set the right environment for the set-up, but also have the technical capability to coach the team and coach them in a way that they can achieve the success that we all believe they can achieve.”

WHO ARE THE CONTENDERS TO REPLACE STAJCIC?

With less than five months to go before the World Cup, hiring the right candidate will be crucial to the Matildas’ title hopes.

There are several extremely experienced coaches plying their trade within the W-League.

That includes Brisbane Roar coach Mel Andreatta and Melbourne Victory boss Jeff Hopkins, with the pair — especially Hopkins — arguably boasting the two best CVs in the W-League.

That said, there is still a strong chance the FFA will look abroad for the best possible coach.

Australian Joe Montemurro is enjoying a successful stint at Arsenal after previously coaching Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory — though prising him out of England could be easier said than done.

Joe Montemurro. Picture: Kylie Else Source: News Corp Australia

Other potential candidates include English coach Laura Harvey, who heads up NWSL team Utah Royals, or her countryman Mark Parsons, who coaches NWSL powerhouse Portland Thorns.

The other option would be to follow the approach taken by England in appointing a name from the men’s game, ala Phil Neville.

Let’s not forget, this is an extremely talented squad — and there is still plenty of time to pull things together.

Now, it’s about getting the right person in charge.

It’s far from panic stations.