Phoenix swing ALW coaching switch

Wellington Phoenix are targeting a first Liberty A-League finals spot even after a last-minute coaching switch, with assistant Natalie Lawrence stepping in to replace inaugural boss Gemma Lewis.

With two months before the new season the Nix moved quickly to replace Lewis, who has accepted a job back in her home country of Wales.

Lawrence was the obvious choice to step up, saying leading the club for their first games in New Zealand would be “one of the proudest moments of my life”.

“I feel like I’ve been fully part of the (club) so hopefully the transition for me moving into the head coach role, will be simple for the players,” she said.

The season is a big one for Wellington, wooden spooners last time out.

It is the first campaign they’ve been able to play home games, and leads into the Australia-New Zealand hosted World Cup next July.

The Phoenix have made a promising start to their recruitment, adding national team players Betsy Hassett and Paige Satchell.

Annalie Longo was a likely addition until she suffered a major knee injury on international duty.

Club chief executive David Dome said despite the coaching switch, the club was in a better position than last year when they “had to throw together a team in four or five weeks”.

“We’re so much more advanced,” he said.

“I’m genuinely optimistic about the season and what we can achieve … the expectation is this team gets in or around the finals and that would be a great result.”

Dome said their biggest transfer priority was finding a goalscorer.

“They’re hard to find but there are a few options around,” he said.