Reigning A-League champions Central Coast Mariners are set lose Graham Arnold to an Asian club, with Phil Moss poised to succeed him as head coach.
Reigning A-League champions Central Coast Mariners are set lose Graham Arnold to an Asian club, with Phil Moss poised to succeed him as head coach.
The Mariners have confirmed that Arnold will this week travel for talks with an undisclosed club, and have indicated they expect their head coach to agree terms.
The 50-year-old has made no secret of his desire to challenge himself outside Australia, and narrowly lost out to Sven-Goran Eriksson in the battle for the job at Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R&F in June.
“The success of our club over the past three seasons under Graham Arnold and his staff always meant Graham would receive interest from rival Hyundai A-League and foreign Clubs,” Mariners general manager Peter Turnbull said in a statement.
“As such, we have been planning for the past 18 months for Phil (Moss) to take on the role of head coach of the club upon Graham’s departure. Of course, Graham has been helping prepare Phil for the position.
“We will know for certain by no later than Sunday whether or not Graham has finalised a deal in Asia, and will notify our members, fans, and media of any updates as soon as possible.”
The Mariners stopped short of confirming that Moss will be handed the reins on a permanent basis, stating he will take charge of first-team training until Arnold’s future is resolved.
The team is not in action this week, with their Round 6 fixture against Wellington Phoenix to be played at North Sydney Oval in December.
