Bazeley\u2019s contract was up in December but he remained hopeful of staying on. He was understandably upset when speaking to the Herald about the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hopeful of continuing with the team, but there\u2019s a football decision been made and that\u2019s something that I have to now deal with,\u201d Bazeley told the Herald.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not what I wanted, but yeah, something that\u2019s happened and I\u2019m currently dealing with it and taking it all in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been involved with New Zealand Football for so long, and this was the pinnacle, leading the All Whites. It was such an honour and I was so proud to do it and I enjoyed every, every moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Bazeley has been a good servant to New Zealand football, departing New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell said the World Cup results were not up to standard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a really strong strategic goal of getting to those knockout stages of the World Cup, and we\u2019ve looked back at obviously our record over the last four years and it\u2019s absolutely an imperative that this team achieves its full potential, which is completely at the knockout stages and as far as they can go within those stages,\u201d Pragnell said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t feel they were on the trajectory to do that, and it must happen in 2030. We\u2019ve made that decision and Darren goes with our absolute best wishes. He\u2019s been a servant to the game in this country and I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll go on to great things as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Darren Bazeley speaks with All Whites captain Chris Wood. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Bazeley\u2019s time as All Whites head coach will conclude with the two-match home series against India next month, with matches in Auckland and Christchurch.<\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s spoken to the majority of the squad and is looking forward to one last campaign with the team before departing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of nice words,\u201d Bazeley said. \u201cI\u2019ve known most of them for a long time and been involved in their careers at different parts of their careers at different levels. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got good relationships with all of them, but it\u2019s football and it\u2019s something that they\u2019ll deal with. I\u2019m sure that New Zealand Football will bring in somebody really good who\u2019ll hopefully take the team to that next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2018m looking forward to seeing the boys and get the staff back together. Hopefully we put on a couple of good performances and get some wins and score some goals and have some more moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bazeley is unsure what the future holds but hopes to remain in football, having been involved in the sport since his teens after starting as a player for English side Watford before moving to New Zealand, where he played for the Knights and moved into coaching.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Football said details of the process to recruit Bazeley\u2019s successor will be announced in due course.<\/p>\n
The All Whites squad for the matches against India will be named next week.<\/p>\n