Central Coast coach Alen Stajcic concedes a horror run of losses has taken its toll on the morale of the Mariners, but patience with the young team is essential for eventual A-League success.
Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Wellington was the eighth in a row for the bottom-placed Mariners who have not won a game since January.
“We can’t drop our heads. We are playing for the pride of the club and the team and the whole community so we are playing for much more than ourselves,” he said.
“This club has had a rough trot for a good while now and its continuing so we are playing for all those people who have supported the club for a long period of time and we are playing for the football community of this area.”
The former Matildas coach took over at the Mariners at the start of this season and results were positive immediately.
However, the team has struggled in the new year and are now five points behind Newcastle on the bottom of the ladder.
Stajcic’s policy has been investing in youth and developing them into A-League-standard players.
He insists the Mariners have shown they can compete against the top teams this season, and fans need to be patient.
“We have a lot of young players on the field, five or six around the age of 20 playing so that’s the break in the cycle,” he said.
“Sometimes it takes one day, one month or even a year for these players to grow into being A-League players.
“We have hit that turning point and hopefully – sooner rather than later, the fans don’t want to wait years.”
© AAP
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