INTERESTED IN PHOENIX: Auckland City head coach Ramon Tribulietx is interested in replacing Ricki Herbert at the Phoenix.

Auckland City's Spanish mentor Ramon Tribulietx has declared his interest in becoming the next coach of the Wellington Phoenix.

The 40-year-old from Barcelona has made a good impression since arriving in New Zealand five years ago, winning two Oceania Champions League titles and coaching City to creditable performances at the Club World Cup.

Tribulietx, who previously played and coached in Spain's third division, is committed to possession-based football, which fits snugly with the Phoenix's proposed philosophy.

"I think you're the third or fourth person that has asked me the same question," Tribulietx said when asked if he wanted to replace Ricki Herbert.

"I'm definitely interested but I'll think about it when we finish the season. Of course, as a coach, for my career, I want to move into that kind of football. But at the moment I have a job to do and a very important one in the semifinals of the ASB Premiership [with the first leg against Canterbury United tomorrow]."

The A-League would be a big step up for Tribulietx, although he coached City to a 3-1 win against Central Coast Mariners in a pre-season game in 2011.

"We were only three games into our pre-season and they had played 12 games. Obviously the Central Coast Mariners are a very good side and we managed to get a result so that was a great experience."

Tribulietx played as a "deep lying No 10" in the Spanish third division before earning his coaching stripes with UE Sant Andreu, UE Figueres and UE Castelldefels.

"I've been in professional coaching environments in Spain for three years and I would have no problems stepping up. It would be a challenge, but I think I'm ready for something like that, you know. Obviously the way we play at Auckland City right now, and for the last three seasons, it's possession-based football. We try to look after the ball and delay the forward pass and hold possession more than the opposition. That's our philosophy."

Tribulietx comes off contract with City in May.

With a month of this season remaining, the Phoenix have time to sift through plenty of CVs before settling on their new man.

Former Phoenix assistant coach Luciano Trani has already fired off his resume, while All Whites assistant Neil Emblen has all but ruled himself out of the race.

Former All White Danny Hay says the job isn't for him, while caretaker coach Chris Greenacre has said he is not ready.

Ernie Merrick, who coached Melbourne Victory to two titles, is keen to return to the A-League and unsuccessfully applied for the Sydney FC job won by Frank Farina mid-season.

But the arrival of Carlos Hernandez to the Phoenix in June could be a stumbling block with the pair having an up and down relationship during their time together at the Victory.

The Phoenix face A-League competition in the coaching hunt with Adelaide United also looking for a new boss.

Adelaide have formed a special selection committee including former Socceroos Craig Foster, Alex Tobin and John Perin, while board member Bruno Marveggio did not discount chasing Herbert.

"It may be too early to talk about Ricki Herbert," Marveggio told The Advertiser newspaper.

"But it's all coming together with the committee. Once we reach a decision on exactly what we want and it's approved, then we'll start talking about coaches."

Phoenix general manager David Dome yesterday said the club was not yet making any comment on the process of selecting a new coach.

But on Tuesday Dome said it would be an international search.

"The reality is there's a lot of good coaches out there and we're not going to limit it to Australia, New Zealand," Dome said.

"We'll go wide, we'll just see what's available."

Other possibilities include Ross Aloisi, Ante Milicic, Gavin Wilkinson, Simon Elliott, John Kosmina, Ian Ferguson, Miron Bleiberg, John Herdman, Chris Milicich, Paul Okon, Aurelio Vidmar and Kevin Muscat.