The Wellington Phoenix have re-signed coach Gemma Lewis for a second A-League season with the women's side.
Despite finishing tenth and last in their debut season, Phoenix general manager David Dome said the club was impressed with Lewis' performance in a difficult season.
The side spent the entire five months of the competition based in Australia with the bulk of the squad in only their first year of professional football.
She also had limited time to put the squad together and minimal pre-season preparation.
Despite the challenges the Phoenix picked up a memorable point on debut and won two of their final four games.
A sense of unfinished business has led to Lewis re-signing with the club.
"We feel like we just got started last season. We started implementing what sort of team we want to be known as and how we want to play and now it feels like we've got a chance to build on that," she said.
Gemma Lewis Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"I wasn't willing to walk away as it didn't feel like we were finished."
The team will join the men's side at a new home training base in Upper Hutt next season at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS).
"We're so excited to have a home base, to be able to play in front of a home crowd, to be able to have more visibility in the game locally in Wellington and for the girls to be able to do a little bit more work in the community and connect with that fanbase."
"The club is looking at how we can invest further in the women's team to ensure they're better prepared for year two," said Dome.
The 2022-23 A League starts in November.
-RNZ