Head of Hyundai A-League Damien de Bohun told the Hunter’s media that “significant progress” at the new Newcastle United Jets has been made since Football Federation Australia (FFA) moved to rejuvenate the area’s professional football franchise last week.
Speaking to local press at Speers Point on Wednesday, de Bohun said that the club is continuing to make important strides behind the scenes as the foundations for a successful, community-focussed entity are put in place.
“We’ve made some real progress since we were here last week in relation to the Newcastle Jets Football Club,” de Bohun said. “Obviously it was well publicised that we’ve made a decision around the Head Coaching role, and the process to find a new coach has commenced.”
“We’re doing a lot of work with the staff this week to set up a range of the operational issues that are crucial for the new season. We’re looking at everything from office space, to finances, right through to list management for players.”
“It’s been another big week, but I just want to make sure that the people of Newcastle know that we have made some significant progress in regards to the club,” he said.
The hot topic for Newcastle Jets fans over the breakfast table, at coffee shops and on social media since yesterday’s decision regarding Phil Stubbins’ future with the club was announced has been just who will take on the role of guiding the Jets through the Hyundai A-League 2015-16 season, and potentially beyond.
Twitter has been rampant with speculation over the past days, with a flurry of individuals rumoured to be getting the top job.
However de Bohun confirmed that no one has yet been offered the role, and that interest in the position is coming from coaches based locally, nationally and internationally.
“Appointing a Head Coach is critical,” he said. “We need to move and have a Head Coach as soon as we can to prepare the club for the new season.”
“But it will probably be a couple of weeks before we are ready to announce. We’re going through a process – you hear a lot of names banded about, but the reality is that we are going through a very careful process. It’s important we move quickly, but it’s more important that we get it right.”
“I think what’s great when you think about the public conversation is that we’re talking about some really high quality young Australian coaches in the Hyundai A-League, amongst others, and ten years ago that wasn’t really thought of, so it just goes to show how far the league has come.”
“All sorts of people have thrown their hands up and there’s no doubt that having a good understanding of this mark and this region is important. There are a whole range of really well qualified people who are looking seriously at this great opportunity,” de Bohun concluded.
