In this week’s edition of Jets Insider, Clayton Zane answered questions submitted by the Club’s Members and supporters.
In this week-s edition of Jets Insider, interim head coach Clayton Zane answered questions submitted by the Club-s Members and supporters.
Zane discussed his future as coach, the Jets- finals aspirations and this weekend-s clash with Perth Glory at nib stadium.
@Mikejmccallum asks via Twitter: Any talk of a contract for yourself? Need to sort out coach before new players can be scouted?
CZ: As I-ve mentioned before, the Club and I are focused on getting through this 12-game period that we initially agreed on.
At the end of the season, depending on our results and obviously depending on who the Club has in mind for the head coaching position next season, we-ll sit down and discuss my future role with the Jets.
@PaulBarbaro99 asks via Twitter: What are the chances Solari will get a call up with Birighitti-s return from Germany this week unconfirmed?
CZ: Mark will meet the team in Perth on Saturday and unless something happens in regards to being held up with his flight, he will be on the bench on Sunday.
Owen Clarke asks via email: How crucial do you think it will be having our last two games at home in the run into the Finals?
CZ: We-ve tried to look at it one game at a time, so the focus definitely has to be on Perth this weekend.
I-m more than confident that if we need to get something out of the last two games at home, with our current form and with the support of our Members, we can definitely pick up the points that are required to get us into the top six.
@C_Matthews-Darby asks via Twitter: Why was Kale Bradbery not given a senior contract? He obviously has potential, but he wasn-t even given a chance to impress.
CZ: Kale was offered a development pathway with the Jets, which involved him training with our first team with a view to securing a full-time contract, while also playing with an NBN State League Club in the interim.
Unfortunately Kale decided not to follow the pathway the Club had mapped out for him, instead making a separate decision based on what he felt is best for his career, which he is more than entitled to do.
Having worked with Kale for the past couple of seasons, it-s disappointing he chose not to follow the path that the Jets had set out for him, but as a Club we-ll move forward and hopefully identify other talented young players who are able to come in and train with the first team and hopefully develop into A-League players.
Didn-t agree with pathway we had in mind decided to make career decision about what he thought was best for himself which wasn-t in line with what we had mapped out.
@jblesfooty224 asks via Twitter: How-s James Pascoe going? Any chance of him becoming your assistant coach along with Bridgey next season?
CZ: James has done a terrific job over the years in an assistant coaching role with the Newcastle Jets youth team and has obviously filled in when there has been changes to the head coach role for the youth team.
James has a full-time role with Hunter Sports High, which is another important position for the development of junior players in the region, and he-s very happy there at the moment.
We-re already covered in the assistant coach department with Craig Deans and Michael Bridges, so James will continue on in the role that he-s had for the past few seasons, which is great news for the Jets.
Owen Clarke asks via email: How crucial do you think it will be having our last two games at home in the run into the Finals?
CZ: We-ve tried to look at it one game at a time, so the focus definitely has to be on Perth this weekend.
I-m more than confident that if we need to get something out of the last two games at home, with our current form and with the support of our Members, we can definitely pick up the points that are required to get us into the top six.
Josephine Walsh asks via email: What are the main dangers we face against the Glory this weekend?
CZ: Every game presents its own challenges and I think Perth is a team that is fighting not to be at the base of the table.
It-s a very dangerous game where we need to make sure we don-t drop our standards just because of the ladder positions of the two sides.
We need to play like a top six team if we-re to make it.
Chris Mills asks via email: Why do you think we find it so difficult to win in Perth?
CZ: You need to factor in a few different things to most matches. There-s obviously a lot of travel and statistically we haven-t done too well over there in the Club-s history, so it-s going to be a big challenge.
You can-t really afford to drop points at this stage of the season and we-re going across to the West to win. It-s not a game where we-ll be happy to shut-up shop and play for a draw.
Travis Heffernan asks via email: How is the mood in the camp at the moment after such a big win against Wellington?
CZ: It-s always great after a win. The boys come back in the first day and they get back to work straightaway with a smile on their face.
They-re the easier weeks to coach, but they-re also the dangerous weeks because we need to have the mentality where we start stringing matches together rather than be happy with that 5-0 win and drop three points the week after.
We-ve been very cautious as a coaching staff to make sure the players have go their heads switched on and they-ve done very well in training once again this week, so we go across to Perth with confidence.
Thanks for all your fantastic Jets Insider questions! Make sure you follow @NewcastleJetsFC on Twitter to find out who will be in the hot seat next week.
