As our 2024/25 season officially gets underway on Wednesday evening, we sat down with Central Coast Mariners Head Coach Mark Jackson and Sporting Director Matt Simon.
The pair give supporters a general update ahead of the new campaign and what they believe is a ‘truly exciting time’ for the club.
✍️ Jacko is here to stay
Firstly, Jacko said how pleased he is to have signed a new deal with the club until 2027, off the back of a historic first season in Australia.
“I’m really pleased to be able to sign a new contract alongside Danny Schofield. We’re pleased with what we achieved last season but we see this as a long-term project at the Mariners and we want to continue to build, develop the team, the players and the club as well.” he said.
“It took a bit of time to reflect on everything, which I like to do. It’s an important part of the process when you achieve something. I did that and the magnitude of what we achieved hit home. Looking back, it’s a fantastic achievement for everybody at the club, it was a whole-club effort.
“It was a historic achievement and one we’re very proud of at this football club.” Jacko said.
Simmo believes the extension of Jackson and Schofield’s deals are the ‘key signing’ of the off-season, saying it has been a ‘pleasure’ working with Jacko so far and says the pair are excited about the upcoming season with the playing squad for 24/25 coming together nicely.
“It’s been a busy off-season, as always. Like every year, there is change so I’m so grateful that Jacko and Danny have signed new deals, that was the key signing of the off-season. Not only because of what they can do on the field as coaches, but the character they have around the club as a whole.” Simmo said.
🧱 Simmo: “We’re building an exciting squad”
As expected following the success of last season, the club have dealt with a number of departures with the signings of Lucas Mauragis, Adam Pavlesic, Diesel Herrington, Alfie McCalmont and Vitor Feijao, plus the extension of Miguel Di Pizio and Sasha Kuzevski’s contracts, the squad is looking healthy.
“Players come and go, we’ve lost a few players which always happens when you’re successful but we’ve made some great signings to replace the players that we’ve lost and we’re building an exciting squad.” Simmo said.
“It’s been a pleasure, working with Mark. We agree on a lot of things, we’re building an exciting squad. We look at the squad on the board every day and we’re really excited about the upcoming season,” he added.
🧠 Jacko explains the process that goes into signing players
“There’s a lot of people involved in the process [of signing players] the wider staff research and watching players, then we have to make decisions on them. It takes a lot of time to get to the point of signing a player.” Jacko explained.
“What we try and do is when we get to that point, signing on the dotted line, we know everything we want to know and we’re really pleased with that. There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.
“I know at times there might have been some frustrations for the fans, seeing more outgoings than incomings but this process of recruitment has been going since before the season finished and is still continuing now. There is work going on behind the scenes all the time.
We think the players who have come in fit our culture and model really well, we see a lot of growth and development in them but we think they can bring something to the team right away as well.
Mark Jackson on incoming signings.
“Simmo’s support and work has been fantastic for me as a manager, getting players over the line. We’ve got the targets we want but we have more that we’re eyeing up.” Jacko added.
💪 Pre-season, Heidelberg and AFC Champions League Elite
“Pre-season [in Australia] is different to England, in terms of the timescales. We have to work so the players are physically and tactically ready [to face Heidelberg]. It’s always exciting to start a pre-season, to get the players back on the field and we are happy with where the players are at.” Jacko said.
Read more from Jacko ahead of Heidelberg, here.
As well as Australia Cup duty, the Mariners also face two Champions League fixtures before the A-League season commences on October 18th. Jacko says the team is excited to test themselves against some of the best in Asia.
“To be playing against some of the top teams in Asia in the Champions League, is really exciting for staff and players to challenge ourselves against top teams and for the players to show what they can do on the big stage.” Jacko said.
💌 Mark and Matt’s Messages to the Mariners Family
“The fans were a massive part of what we achieved last season, how they drove us on and stuck behind the team from the start we had. We need that support from the community and we try to give back through our performances and interactions.” Jacko said.
The interactions the players and staff have with the community is fantastic, like nothing I’ve ever seen before and we want to make that connection even stronger.
Mark Jackson on the Mariners community connection.
Simmo believes that this is an amazing time to get involved with the club:
“My message to the supporters would be just be with us. We’re coming off the back of a fantastic season with a lot of trophies but there will be ups and downs,” he said.
“There will be a transitional period for some of these players but we’re hoping they can replace the outgoing players, become household names, connect with the fans and perform on the pitch.
I think it’s an amazing time to get involved with the club. Last year’s Grand Final scenes are something I don’t think anyone will ever forget.
– Matt Simon
“Not only in the playing squad but as a club, there are some huge announcements coming up and it’s a truly exciting time to be involved with the club and we hope everyone is going to be there to support us.” Simmo added.
