Adamstown Rosebud appoint new NPL coach for 2018

Cansdell-Sherriff, 34, is playing with Maitland this year but is set to retire and focus on coaching. A former Australian youth international, Cansdell-Sherriff played 17 seasons and more than 400 games in Denmark and the English lower leagues.

Rosebud announced the appointment on Tuesday night after interviews with Cansdell-Sherriff and Webb, who took over from the axed Peter McGuinness mid-year.

“We’re very excited about his professional pedigree, and we feel there’s a lot of potential with him,” Adamstown president Andrew Licata said. “We’re a club that’s always given young players opportunities and we feel this is line with our mantra of giving young people an opportunity that other clubs probably wouldn’t. I’m sure people will question why we went with a rookie, but we want to grow and we feel we need someone who wants to grow as well to implement a three- to five-year plan.”

Cansdell-Sherriff, who needs to complete his requisite B-licence, will have A-licenced coach Martyn Griffiths as his assistant.

Licata thanked Webb “for coming in at was a very difficult time”.

“He’s made every effort and given the situation, he’s done very well with what he was confronted with,” he said.

“It was a difficult decision but we felt Shane’s professional experience gives us what we’re looking for.”

He said the position would be reviewed on a year-to-year basis but the club was keen for a long-term coach. Rosebud have had Anthony Richards, Graham Law, McGuinness and Webb as head coaches in the NPL since earning promotion for 2014.

“We believe his professional approach and manner was right for the young group we have here,” Licata said.

“We believe they can relate better to someone like Shane, rather than bringing in someone that perhaps is a bit old school.

“We are trying to stay modern but it has been challenging and we certainly don’t want to be going through this every year.”