It's all ended in tears for Ernie Merrick in New Zealand.
But if his top level coaching career is now at an end, the veteran Scotsman can at least take some consolation from his success with Melbourne Victory in the early years of the A-League, a period when he twice won the coach of the year award and led the Victorian powerhouse to two A-League championships.
Merrick announced his resignation from his current position following Wellington Phoenix's 2-0 loss to champions Adelaide United on Sunday night in South Australia.
The result lifted the Reds off the bottom of the A-League ladder, and saw the Kiwis drop to the foot of the table in their place.
The defeat was the last straw for Merrick, who had come into the new season full of confidence and optimism that this was the year the Phoenix could finally mount a serious title challenge.
He had signed an array of attacking talent, including two of Melbourne Victory's 2014-15 title winning team, Kosta Barbarouses and Gui Finkler, and said that he believed this was a very strong Phoenix squad that could trouble any rival in the league.
But there were always doubts as to the strength of the Kiwis' defence, and the Phoenix, while attractive enough going forward, have been proven to be particularly porous at the back.
After eight games (they have a game in hand on the rest of the league because of the postponement of their fixture against Victory because of the recent earthquake) have conceded 14 goals, the fourth worst in the league. Only Perth and the Mariners (17) and Western Sydney (16) have given up more, but they have played an extra game.
But even more culpable have been the attacking players in whom Merrick placed such great store. Phoenix have only managed six goals this season, 0.75 per game, three fewer than the next lowest scorers (Adelaide and Newcastle) who have nine and average at least a goal a game.
Life this season was not made easy for Merrick because of the fixture scheduling and international calendar. His preparation and team selections have been badly hampered by New Zealand's international commitments, with several of his best players being called away for All Whites friendlies or World Cup qualifiers.
However, he did know this was always going to be part of the deal in coaching the only New Zealand team in the A-League.
In a statement issued on Monday morning Merrick said: "I take full responsibility for position the team is currently in.
"I feel that I have not performed well enough as head coach, as we have a very strong squad that should be higher up the table.
"It's therefore the right time for me to step aside and allow someone else to take over. We have a run of home games coming up and I think this will give my successor the best opportunity to take the team forward.
"I'd like to thank everyone at Wellington Phoenix for the past three years and particularly Welnix, the chairman and the board who have been nothing but supportive during this time."
The club praised Merrick's commitment and his input into building up a club which many in Australia – including some influential voices within the FFA – have at many times argued should not even be in the A-League.
"Ernie has been a consummate professional since the day he arrived at Wellington Phoenix and was instrumental in overhauling the way the team performed on the field and how it conducted itself off the field," the Phoenix said in a statement.
"He played a significant role in the development of young players through the Phoenix academy, who are now breaking into the first team and representing New Zealand at international level. "
While his disappointing finish with Wellington Phoenix may now be the epitaph for his senior coaching career, Merrick will always be able to point to his legacy of championship success in Melbourne.
Now in his seventh decade (he turns 64 in January), Merrick has spent his life in the game, much of it coaching promising youngsters and honing his qualifications to the highest level.
It was those connections with the cream of the local youth crop that helped persuade Geoff Lord and the original investors in Melbourne Victory to think outside the box and appoint the then Victorian Institute of Sport coach as Victory's first ever mentor.
While things were a failure in the first season (Victory finished seventh on the eight team ladder, the lowest-ranked Australian team with only the hapless New Zealand Knights beneath them) there was a remarkable turnaround in their second campaign.
Merrick presided over a seven-game winning streak at the start of the 2006-07 campaign (still an A-League record for the number of consecutive wins to start a season) as Victory announced their title credentials, and then steered them to that amazing 6-0 grand final triumph over Adelaide United on an emotional night in February 2007.
He also led Victory to a second championship two years later and created a swashbuckling team, with potent attacking players such as Archie Thompson, Danny Allsopp and Carlos Hernandez, which also made the grand final the following season (2009-10), losing to Sydney in a penalty shoot out.
But things started to sour the following year, when Victory made the finals but were eliminated at the first hurdle by the now defunct Gold Coast United.
The club also failed to prosper in the Asian Champions League under his tutelage (while rival Adelaide went on to make a final of the continent's top club competition). When Lord was replaced by current chairman Anthony Di Pietro in a boardroom reshuffle, Merrick's days were numbered following a heavy loss in an Asian Champions League match against Gamba Osaka. He was sacked in March of 2011, making him the last surviving A-League foundation coach to leave his club.
After a spell in Hong Kong, the Edinburgh-born former PE teacher, who migrated to Australia as a young man, was thrown a lifeline by the Kiwis.
He took the Phoenix to the finals in 2014-15 where they had a home tie but were beaten by Melbourne City in the first elimination game. That, in the end, turned out to be the high watermark of his time in New Zealand.
