After his surprise unveiling at an exclusive Members Function on Wednesday evening, newly appointed Coach Mike Mulvey visited the Central Coast Mariners Centre of Excellence for the first time today and addressed his new squad.
The message was clear – Mulvey wants to re-ignite the Mariners’ winning culture that made the Yellow & Navy an admired asset during the first decade of the Hyundai A-League.
Mulvey observed his first Central Coast Mariners training session at Tuggerah today and spoke with media about his excitement of reconnecting with the Central Coast Community and building a team that the local region can be proud of.
"It's the #F3Derby, there's pride on the line, there's a new coach in the house, so let's see what the players have to offer."
Full Press Conference ? https://t.co/b2xpBF0aAi#CCMFC #WelcomeMike pic.twitter.com/Cflxo3m3NB
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) April 12, 2018
“I’m delighted to be here on the Central Coast. It’s a great place,” Mulvey said. “I’m really up for the challenge. The Mariners are a community club, it’s probably a very over-achieving club if you look at the full history of the A-League and I’m delighted to be here because it’s a bit like a sleeping giant, it’s ready to awaken and I’m hoping that I can come and help inspire the club to greater achievements in the future,” Mulvey said.
The Mariners have a rich history of giving youth a chance and this is a reputation that Mulvey is keen to build on during his tenure. Although youth development is vital, the Championship winning Head Coach also stressed the importance of team success.
“You only have to look at the history of the Central Coast with Bernie Ibini, Trent Sainsbury, Mustafa Amini, Maty Ryan, the list goes on,” Mulvey said. “Players who have been developed and gone on to bigger and better things.
“I don’t like to think of the A-League as just a development league, it’s not, it’s a league that you want to try and win but the fruits of victory ensure that some of our better players get noticed by bigger clubs around the world and they do move on.
“So, I’m looking to develop the next Socceroo and why can’t they come from Central Coast Mariners?
“I want to bring young players here who have aspirations to be playing overseas and then come to the Mariners and show us what you can do in the A-League,” Mulvey said.
New coach Mike Mulvey fronts the @CCMariners members to outline his vision for how he wants the team to play, his recruitment plan and his desire to reconnect the community with the club.
“I want to get the people of this area to feeling proud about this club again.” pic.twitter.com/S0CwRIzviw
— Sebastian Hassett (@sebth) April 11, 2018
Mulvey is determined to build a squad with the right attitude to deliver silverware for the ‘success starved’ Mariners faithful.
“We want players who want to go out there and play for Central Coast Mariners,” Mulvey said. “So, whether that’s a young player, a senior player, or an overseas player, it doesn’t matter.
“We want to have the players with the right attitude who want to go out and perform for the community. I want the community to get behind us and I want to bring them on this journey with us because without the community you find it very difficult to achieve anything.
“I think they’re [the fans] starved a little bit of success. Their record in the last fifty games is something like ten wins so that’s patently not good enough to be challenging at the top end of the table and I haven’t come here to finish second.
“It might take some time but we’re certainly going to work overtime to make sure we can deliver the fans a great brand of football but also a team that’s winning. We want to really stand up and put ourselves on the map so the only way to do that is to work very, very hard in the office and also on the field and the proof will be in the pudding.
“They’ve got to have the right attitude. They’ve got to be prepared to live on the Coast. They’ve got to be prepared to buy in to the club culture. We want to build a culture here that is inclusive of everybody but also understands the community and what it’s like to wear a shirt that has great pride,” Mulvey said.
We’ve landed an @ALeague Champion!
Welcome to the Mariners, Mike Mulvey ?? https://t.co/Ld9pxR7KJB #WelcomeMike #CCMFC #ALeague pic.twitter.com/0BTUttKNmN
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) April 11, 2018
With one Hyundai A-League game to go this season, Mulvey said he is keen to see which players step up and prove they want to be a Central Coast Mariner for next season and beyond.
“The most important thing, is that I was able to get here before the season has finished to have a look at our team in action in a competitive game,” Mulvey said. “It’s a local derby with pride on the line.
“There’s a new coach in the house so let’s see what the players have got to offer on Saturday,” Mulvey said.
Mariners Match Details
Saturday, 14 April 2018
Hyundai A-League Round 27
Match: Central Coast Mariners vs. Newcastle Jets FC
Venue: Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 7:50pm
Tickets: CLICK HERE
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA 501 & One
Hash-tag: Join the match conversation using #F3Derby & #ThanksRosey
