Central Coast’s 1-0 loss to Tianjian Teda signalled the end of the Australian outfit’s Asian Champions League campaign, but McKinna believes it can be the beginning of a fresh start at the club.
The Mariners have parted company with Andre Gumprecht, Paul O’Grady, Greg Owens and Nick Rizzo and are chasing several new players.
They are hoping to add Socceroos star Mile Sterjovski to their roster, the off-contract Derby County player watched Tuesday night’s game from a Bluetongue Stadium suite.
“There’s interest but there are another two or three Asian clubs and A-League clubs and still some interest in Europe for him,” McKinna said of Sterjovski.
“So there’s still a long way to go but that type of player would be a huge asset to the club.”
“On and off the field he’s a true professional.”
Meanwhile, McKinna was very disappointed with the way the Mariners’ match on Tuesday night ended due to what he described as time wasting tactics by Tianjin Teda.
The visitors appeared to be playacting by feigning injury and rolling around the turf in mock agony, which didn’t please anybody at the ground.
“It’s a farce. They made a mockery of it. They killed the last 10-15 minutes of the game,” McKinna ranted.
“They were winning the game and I don’t think there’s any need to do that.”
“That kind of stuff just brings the game down, and especially because the Australian public is not used to that kind of stuff,” he added.
