Former Sydney FC coach Branko Culina says he will not put his hand up to replace Gary van Egmond at Newcastle Jets, admitting he still has a bitter taste from his last A-League coaching stint.
Van Egmond shocked the Jets on Sunday by quitting with four years remaining on his contract to take up a coaching role with the Australian Institute of Sport.
Culina, who was hired by the Jets as a technical director in February, was apparently favourite to take over in either a short or long-term role but he played down those reports on Monday.
The father of Socceroos midfielder Jason did not completely rule out taking the position if it was offered to him but admitted he would be reluctant to coach again in Australia.
Culina, who has almost 20 years of coaching experience, was sacked by Sydney FC only nine games into the 2007/08 season and replaced by John Kosmina, with many believing he was not given enough time with the team.
“There is an old saying, `once a coach always a coach’ and that’s still a little bit true but I’ve never really thought about it (the Newcastle job) much,” Culina told AAP.
“It’s not to say that I don’t want to coach, but not necessarily in Australia and I’ve still probably got a bitter feeling about it after the Sydney episode.
“It is not something that I have been thinking about, it’s not something where I’ll be putting my hand up for and at the moment, I think the club is still trying to come to grips with the fact Gary has left so suddenly.
“People are entitled to put up names … but people are just jumping to conclusions.”
Culina added: “In life you never rule anything out” but said he would be flying to Europe on Tuesday for a three-and-a-half week trip learning trip to various clubs.
He admitted he was surprised at van Egmond’s sudden departure and revealed the coach had sought advice from him on Sunday morning before making his decision to quit.
“Gary rang me early in the morning and said `what do you think?’,” Culina said.
“I would have thought he would have made his mind up, but at least he was courteous enough to give me a call and ask for my views.
“… I said `consider everything, weigh up the pros and cons.
“He rang me and hour later and advised me that he had quit.
“… I, like many people around the club or in the game, didn’t see it coming but I wish him well.
“He’s an ambitious young man who knows what he wants out of the game and is willing to go for it.”
Jets chairman Con Constantine and chief executive John Tsatsimas were to meet on Monday to discuss a replacement for van Egmond with an announcement expected as early as this week.
With Culina heading overseas and assistant coach Mark Jones currently in Vietnam with his daughter, the Jets are in danger of being severely undermanned when the players report back for training next week after a short break following their Asian Champions League exit.
The events have rocked the club just six weeks out from the new A-League season and club officials are reportedly fuming.
Van Egmond could not be contacted on Monday.
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