The Wellington Phoenix can confirm 100-game defenders Sam Sutton and Scott Wootton are leaving the club.
The All Whites fullback and English centre back will play their final matches for the Phoenix on Wednesday night when Wellington square-off against Brisbane Roar in their Australia Cup playoff in Darwin.
Both were key members of last season’s history-making squad that narrowly missed out on the Premiers’ Plate and a place in the A-League grand final.
Phoenix director of football Shaun Gill has thanked Sutton and Wootton for their contributions to the club.
“Both Sutts and Scotty have left a lasting legacy,” Gill said.
“Sutts has quite literally grown up at the Phoenix, having joined the academy as a 14-year-old in 2016.
“He made his first team debut days after his 18th birthday and has gone on to make more than 100 appearances for the Nix in all competitions over the past five seasons, the first two of which were while the team was based in Australia.
“Scotty joined the club at the start of 2022 and has been a mainstay at the heart of the Phoenix defence for 100 matches since.
“He played every minute of the team’s memorable 2023-24 A-League campaign and was deservingly named in the PFA team of the year.
“Scotty has also starting his coaching apprenticeship at the academy.”
Sam Sutton hopes this is a ‘see you later’ rather than a ‘goodbye’.
“The club’s been a big part of my life, and it’s meant everything to me,” Sutton said.
“The Phoenix is my home. I’ve been here for the best part of 10 years and not winning any silverware is pretty heartbreaking for me.
“The fans have been immense since I arrived at the club, and it’s been an honour to play for them. Hopefully I’ll be back one day to win some silverware for them.”
Scott Wootton also “would have loved to have been part of the team that brought silverware to the club for the first time”, but looks back at his time at the Phoenix with great fondness.
“I can honestly say I’ve absolutely loved my time here,” Wootton said. “I’ve made some lifelong friends and It’s been great for me and my family.
“I’ll forever be grateful to Gilly (Shaun Gill), Uffy (Ufuk Talay) and Chiefy (Giancarlo Italiano) for putting the faith in me and signing me.
“I’ve loved playing under Uffy and Chief. Both of them are two very good managers. I wish Chiefy nothing but success moving forward with the team.
“A special mention to Adam Griffiths too. He’s an amazing coach and he’s played a big part in my development at this stage of my career.
“I also want to thank the staff at the academy for giving me my first taste of coaching. They were all fantastic for me and it’s something that I now know I want to do in the future.
“And a big thank you to the fans for the great support they’ve given me and my family.”
