Off-field distractions will not be dwelled upon according to officials.
Central Coast coach Graham Arnold has rejected suggestions his side will be distracted by the off-field dramas at the club in the lead up to the A-League finals series.
With just two weeks until the post-season begins the Mariners find themselves in the middle of a cash crisis, with the club unable to pay its players for the past month.
The former Socceroos coach said it will be business as usual for the players at the business end of the season adding he had faced similar challenges before
“I obviously know a lot more about what’s going on than the players do,” Arnold told Adelaide Now.
“But there’s a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes and I just try to manage it without the players knowing and let them concentrate on football.
“They are distractions but I’ve been through enough over the years with the national team stuff and it doesn’t bother me too much.”
However, Arnold said not only will his side turn up to play Adelaide at Hindmarsh Stadium this weekend, but that they will look to push Western Sydney Wanders all the way to the finish.
In a bid to keep his players focused, Arnold has taken the drastic step of forbidding them from watching any other games in the A-League.
The former national coach said there is no reason for players to be watching other teams after 25 rounds of competition.
“After the Sydney game (0-2 loss on March 9), I told them if you’re going to watch any football watch the English Premier League or overseas football,” Arnold said.
“We do enough A-League video analysis so they don’t need to watch any other teams.”
Football Federation Australia has declined further financial assistance for the club until its ownership structure if set in stone, with existing shareholder Mike Charlesworth having made an offer to become the majority owner of the club.
Mariners chairman Peter Turnbull said all players would be played this week but did not comment on the club possibly changing hands.
In a further blow to Central Coast’s future, Primo Smallgoods has announced that it will not be renewing its sponsorship deal with the club next year.
COMMENTS