Central Coast will rush newly-signed striker John Sutton straight into the starting line-up against Wellington on Saturday as they set out to avoid a third successive A-League defeat.
Mariners coach Graham Arnold has confirmed the English striker will make his debut at Bluetongue Stadium, having joined the club on loan from Scottish Premier League side Hearts.
Sutton, 28, arrived in Gosford last week but did not receive his clearance in time to play in the Mariners’ 2-1 defeat against Melbourne Victory last Friday.
And after impressing on the training ground, Arnold will throw Sutton into action at the first opportunity in the first-versus-third clash.
“John will start. We brought him out from Scotland for a reason and that’s to play,” Arnold said.
“He’s looked very good in training, he’s fit in to the squad extremely well and it’s just a matter of him now learning how we play and the players around him learning how he plays.
“He brings a lot of experience. You can see he’s a hardened pro and we’re very excited to have him here.”
Sutton, the brother of former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton, said he was raring to go for the Mariners, although it had taken some time to acclimatise to a 25-degree difference in temperature from Edinburgh.
“There’s a bit of an adaptation but I think I’ve got used to it now, there’s no jetlag and I’m looking forward to getting going,” Sutton said.
“I watched the game against Melbourne … I thought we were really unlucky not to take something out of that game.
“Hopefully come tomorrow, we’ll get a good result and get back on track in terms of results, because I think the performances have been very good.”
The Mariners remain five points atop the competition with a game in hand but know another loss could allow Brisbane Roar back into the race for the Premiers’ Plate.
Wellington’s momentum was halted slightly with last week’s 2-0 loss at home to the Roar but they regain defender Manny Muscat from suspension.
Sutton is yet to get a first-hand taste of the A-League but he needs no briefing about the Phoenix’s biggest threat.
“I played with Paul Ifill at Millwall. I know he’s a very good player,” Sutton said.
“From what the boys have said, they are a very difficult team to beat, so I know we’re in for a very tough game.”
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