SoccerHerdman's hard work starts here

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John Herdman led New Zealand to two FIFA Women's World Cups - in 2007 and 2011. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

He describes it as a 'dream move'. No kidding. In his shoes I would be waking up nightly and pinching myself just to be sure it is not, in fact, a dream.

John Herdman has just won soccer's equivalent of the lottery. His future, in the commercially fragile world of women's football, is secure. His new reality will bring him to Canada to head a program which has stable funding, decent players, and a mission to accomplish.

What's not to love? Herdman must essentially achieve two goals. Beat Mexico and join the United States at the 2012 London Olympics, then spend the next three years fine tuning the team to host the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015.

Perhaps I am being a tad simplistic. Of course there is more to it than that. A lot more in fact. The newly appointed Head Coach of the Canadian Women's team has wounds to heal, confidence to instill and most importantly, in the early stages, trust to earn.

He is assuming control of a group of players who worshipped his predecessor. Carolina Morace was much more than a leader. The Italian was an inspiration to the majority of the players. Let's not forget, to a woman, they were prepared to strike on her behalf in the months leading up to Germany.

Morace was a players' coach. She fought for them and protected them. She understood their needs because she, too, had been a player. Morace took on her employers and demanded more for her program and her team. She was no diplomat but Morace's 'you-get-what-you-pay-for' approach certainly worked to a point.

She kept her side of the bargain. Morace delivered the Canadian Soccer Association what it wanted - a winning team. A team good enough to become CONCACAF Champions and stride to the Women's World Cup, via a lengthy training camp in Italy, brimming with confidence.

Under pressure, the mirage disappeared

Ultimately, it was all a mirage. What Morace could not deliver was a team technically good enough to compete with the best in the world. She made them fitter, and mentally stronger, but she could not go back to basics and teach elite athletes how to control and pass a ball at pace and under pressure.

When it really mattered, Canada's shortcomings were all too easily exposed by successive opponents. It is John Herdman's job to make sure it doesn't happen again when Canada welcomes the world in four years time.

Maybe that dream job is not quite as wonderful as it appears. If Morace, one of the finest players of her generation and a renowned female coach, could not make Canada a force in women's soccer, how will Herdman improve its fortunes in four short years?

He will have barely four months to prepare a group of strangers for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver. He would be foolish to attempt to overhaul the system in such a short space of time. But an Englishman's fundamental beliefs of how the game should be played will differ significantly from those of an Italian woman.

Herdman has a track record in coaching women's teams. For almost a decade he has been toiling away in New Zealand with qualified success. He guided the Football Ferns to the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, plus the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They failed to win a game at any of the aforementioned tournaments.

How then is he the "ideal candidate" to lead Canada's national women's program? What special qualities does he bring which will elevate the team "to the next level"? Surely if Herdman is that gifted, the Football Association would have been in touch by now to call him home and involve him in the England women's team.

A good fit

Everything's relative of course. Prior to Herdman's appointment New Zealand's women had never competed at the Olympics and only once before been to a World Cup although Australia's move to the Asian Confederation in 2006 removed a hefty qualifying obstacle.

Herdman's experience however could be a good fit for Canada. Swapping the Ferns for the Maple Leaf may not be that big of a jump. He is used to coaching hard-working, committed players of moderate technical ability. Sounds a lot like what he'll inherit in Canada to me.

First things first. Herdman would be wise to utilize the bulk of Morace's roster for Olympic qualification and he will know all about Mexico. At the World Cup New Zealand earned its only point against the Mexicans, snatching a dramatic tie with two stoppage time goals in Germany.

The Americans remain a class apart. Herdman's first assignment is a pair of friendlies against the US in preparation for October's Pan-Am Games. Avoiding defeat in either would be seen as an indication the World Cup scars are beginning to heal.

Lessons must be learned from Germany but there is no time to dwell in the past. Herdman must quickly develop a positive rapport with the senior players and begin to put his own stamp on the shape of things to come. A passionate 'Geordie' coming in too hard would only provoke reluctance. He must find a happy medium and allow the players to warm to him and his football philosophy.

John Herdman is not a world-beating coach. Then again, he is not taking charge of a world-beating team. But if he can extract the best out of what he's got, plus identify and nurture the top youngsters, Canada might just have a team that can hold its own to become a courteous and competitive host in 2015.

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