THE hunt for the next Matildas coach could drag on beyond February’s international window with Football Australia determined to take its time to appoint the right long-term candidate.

Former long-time mentor Tony Gustavsson departed in August and interim coach Tom Sermanni has led the Matildas in six friendlies since his appointment in September.

That interim reign could continue into and beyond February’s SheBelieves Cup as FA contemplates candidates for the next four-year cycle.

The coach needs to lead Australia at the home 2026 Asian Cup and qualify and compete in the 2027 Women’s World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

But Johnson noted there were still six women’s international windows in 2025, plus two before the Asian Cup in 2026 in which to prepare.

“The hard deadline is as soon as possible, and as soon as possible means getting the right person,” Johnson told AAP.

“So we have a window in February, and then a window in April. I would hope we at least have confirmed who our coach is by one of those two windows, I hope.

“But again, I don’t want to put any hard deadlines because the priority is to get the right person, and the right person is important, right?

“We’ve got this juggernaut called the Matildas now – the expectations are high.

“We’ve got a women’s Asian Cup at home that the expectation from the community, as it should be, is that we will win that tournament.

“So we’re playing the long game on this one. And it’s about getting the right person in, not about the speed of which we make the appointment.”

Johnson insists FA are deep into the recruiting process, including interviews and screenings, as they search for the right candidate.

“We’ve looked under every rock,” he said.

“We’ve looked locally. We’ve looked globally.

“We’ve analysed a lot of potential candidates for that role, but we’ve narrowed it right down and we’re focused on getting the person that we think will serve the team the best.

“We’re not there yet, but we’re certainly getting closer to that point and we’ll make the appointment in 2025 as soon as we can.

“We’ve done hundreds of screenings. And rest assured, we’ve talked to the right people, and we’ll continue to do so.”

FA appears to have entered the market at an awkward time, with many top national team and club coaches already contracted.

“All your top coaches are contracted for long periods at all the best national teams and clubs around the world,” Johnson said.

“And if you want to get the right person there’s going to be some restrictions.”

There remains no preference for either an Australian or foreign coach, with Johnson focused on securing the right, “tactically astute”, successful mentor who can get the best out of the Matildas.

“We’re in a local but global sport and since I’ve been here, we’ve recruited Australian coaches and we’ve recruited foreign coaches,” Johnson said.

FA has consulted with senior players throughout the process.

“The message has been loud and clear,” Johnson said.

“Just get the right person, get the best person.”

By Anna HARRINGTON, AAP