Restoring the Central Coast Mariners’ proud tradition of developing Australia’s best young talent is Phil Moss’ prime motivation after signing a contract extension with the Hyundai A-League club on Friday.
Moss, who was contracted for the upcoming season, agreed on a two-year extension which will keep him at the club until the end of the 2016/17 campaign.
The 42-year-old took the reins from Graham Arnold last November, guiding the Mariners to a respectable third place finish last season despite a huge amount of upheaval at the club both on and off the field.
Now with a fresh new deal locked away, Moss wants to make the Mariners the best nursery for young talent in the country.
“I’m delighted to re-sign and it’s a great show of faith from everyone at the club,” Moss told http://www.footballaustralia.com.au on Friday.
“It gives us some stability to plan ahead and we’ve identified the youth system needs some restructuring.
“We’ve always been very open that youth development is an important part of a club like the Mariners. We want to give young guys an opportunity.
“We’ve put systems in place to attract the best young players, and give them a good environment to develop and build into the first team as well as national youth sides.”
Despite having a couple of recent pre-season friendly matches postponed due to bad weather, Moss insists his side is on track for the start of the new A-League season.
“The boys have been training really well and are in a good physical and mental state and now about transferring all the good work into game situations,” Moss said.
“It’s not ideal to miss those matches but we’ve got some big games coming up against Melbourne City, (Newcastle) Jets plus (Queensland NPL side) Olympic FC in the FFA Cup.
“We’ve got about six weeks still to go (before the A-League season starts) and we’ll be ready.
Moss will take his Mariners squad to Lismore on Monday for a week-long training camp.
Central Coast Mariners memberships for the upcoming Hyundai A-League season are now on sale! Be more than a fan, become a member. Click here for more information and to sign up today.
