All Whites star Chris Wood insists NZ Football must move immediately to extend Danny Hay's stay as coach of the national football team.
Hay has just completed a brief tenure that has seen the men's programme reach the Tokyo Olympic quarter-finals and to the brink of World Cup qualification, stumbling at the final hurdle to Costa Rica.
While the results have fallen painfully short of ultimate success, Kiwi football's most powerful man is adamant Hay has the team on track for a golden period of evolution, after lying stagnant for almost a decade.
"I think everyone would be absolutely silly to let this man go," said Wood, after New Zealand's 2-0 defeat to World Cup-bound Australia at Eden Park. "You can see how much he's changed in 12 months, can you imagine what he can do in four years?"
Simply, when Wood speaks, NZ Football would do well to listen. As the nation's resident ambassador in the world's highest-profile league, his presence within the national side is as important as any coach, so making him happy must stand as a top priority.
"Without a shadow of a doubt, I want him here," said Wood. "The team want him here.
"We play better football under him and if we let him go, I think it's absolutely detrimental to NZ football."
As things stand, Hay has coached his last fixture for New Zealand. His contract with the team ended with the two-match series against the Socceroos and he's adamant no discussions about an extension have taken place.
"We think we're starting to build something that could be pretty special, but ultimately, I haven't spoken to anybody from NZ Football about my future," he said. "We'll see what transpires in the coming month or so.
"I've had a wonderful time over the last 12-14 months since the Olympics and, irrespective of whether I'm there or not, I think this team have got a bright future. I think 2026 could be a really exciting period for the team."
The next global tournament will be staged across Canada, Mexico and the United States, with an expanded field of 48 teams and - for the first time - a guaranteed spot for Oceania.
Previously, New Zealand have brushed aside challenges from other Pacific nations, before a daunting playoff against battle-hardened contenders from Asia or the Americas.
They beat Bahrain to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they famously drew three pool games to emerge as the tournament's only unbeaten team.
In 2014, they lost to Mexico in a home-and-away series and four years later, Peru ended New Zealand's hopes of progressing.
In between, the All Whites have had to survive on scraps and Hay, 47, is very clear - if he is to stay, the national side must play more regularly than they have in the past.
"We need to play every single [international] window," he said. "There needs to be a commitment from NZ Football to the players that they will actively go out and search for, not just games, but good quality games.
"The reality is we got to play against a team ranked in the 30s of the world and that's probably only happened a couple of times in the last 4-5 years for this group of players.
"We need that challenge on a regular basis, if we're really going to evolve. That ultimately comes down to the organisation and their desire to genuinely make that happen - not talk about it, but actually make it happen."
The New Zealand men are currently ranked 103 in the world, well clear of nearest Oceania rivals Solomon Islands (137th), compared to Costa Rica at 34th and Australian 39th.
