Head coach Gary van Egmond and Assistant coach Mark Jones have today signed 3-year contract extensions, keeping the coaches at the reigning Hyundai A-League Champions for the next 5 years.
The Newcastle Jets have today re-signed Head coach Gary van Egmond and Assistant coach Mark Jones on 3-year contract extensions. The Jets- coaches were previously signed for the remainder of this season, along with the 2009/2010 season, and will now guide the reigning Hyundai A-League Champions through until the conclusion of the 2012/2013 season.
Van Egmond took over the Head coaching role prior to Round 8 of the 2006/2007 Hyundai A-League season. At that stage the Jets were winless and crowds at EnergyAustralia Stadium were dwindling, but Van Egmond swiftly turned things around, appointing Jones as his assistant and developing a strong club culture revolving around quality football.
Together, van Egmond and Jones guided Newcastle from last place into the Finals series, through to the Preliminary Final where the team would be dramatically beaten by Adelaide United in a penalty shootout.
The pair would develop a strong partnership over the ensuing months and would go on to create football history in the Hunter region during the 2007/2008 season. This would be the first time that a team from Newcastle in a national football competition would be crowned Champions.
Along the way, pundits applauded van Egmond and Jones for implementing a well-rounded, cultured, and entertaining brand of short passing football.
This monumental season was then capped by van Egmond being named the 2007/2008 Hyundai A-League Coach of the Year.
Newcastle Jets- Chairman, Mr. Con Constantine, today made the special announcement in front of a large media gallery.
“It is with great pleasure today that we sign the coach and the assistant coach for another 5 years. We-ve achieved something special here by sending the right message across the board.”
“I think if we do it now it sends a very strong message to the players, which is very important, and also to our support base knowing that at the end of the day we have our coach for the next 5 years,” Mr. Constantine said.
These were sentiments echoed by Jets- CEO John Tsatsimas, who praised the pair for their footballing and coaching expertise.
“We are happy to announce that the coaching staff of Gary van Egmond as Head coach, and Mark Jones as Assistant will be with the club for a further, from today, 5 years.”
“Certainly we are very happy from a club-s point of view. It is a ringing endorsement of the coaching abilities of Gary van Egmond and Mark Jones. They have certainly taken this club, from a playing point of view, to another level,” said Mr. Tsatsimas.
Van Egmond was another that could not hide his delight at the announcement today, and the man known as ‘Dutchy- sees the move as an opportunity to surge forward with the club and create a pathway for young players in the Northern New South Wales region.
“I-ve been talking with the Chairman, Mr. Constantine, and John Tsatsimas, the CEO, and we-ve been discussing the future and we want to build something. We want to ensure that football here at the Newcastle Jets Football Club is going to keep progressing, we want to ensure that the players within the Newcastle area, or the Northern New South Wales catchment if you like, will have opportunities.”
“It-s important to have stability, and I-m over the moon with myself and obviously Mark joining on board to provide the stability for the football club to move forward,” said van Egmond.
The new deal could prove to be the catalyst for the talented duo to generate a club culture and system unlike any in the country, beginning with the youth of the region, and climaxing in a successful senior squad.
“We can keep evolving the club in footballing sense and in an overall sense; obviously with Asia coming up it-s another journey the club is going to take.”
“We-ve been probably one of the premier clubs as far as giving young ones a go and developing them and that won-t change in the next 5 years either. So the overall direction that the club is heading is something which I felt is something I definitely want to be part of, and with the support of the administration I think we can achieve great results,” van Egmond concluded.
Today-s announcement was made moments before the team travelled to South Australia to take on Adelaide United on Saturday, 27 September. Van Egmond and Jones will return to Newcastle next week when the Jets clash with Wellington Phoenix on Monday, 6 October.
Tickets for the next home game are now available from www.proticket.com.au, (02) 4915 2345.
