THE NEWCASTLE HERALD
NEWCASTLE Jets chief executive John Tsatsimas said yesterday that losing players was the inevitable price of grand final success, but he was confident they would be adequately replaced.
Sydney FC are expected to confirm on Monday that they have signed Jets striker Mark Bridge the lone goalscorer in Sunday's title triumph against the Central Coast to a three-year contract.
Defender Andrew Durante, the grand final man of the match, announced on Thursday that he was joining Wellington Phoenix, and doubt surrounds a host of other Newcastle stars, including Stuart Musialik, Tarek Elrich and Adam D'Apuzzo.
The possibility of a mass turnover of personnel has created rumblings among Newcastle's senior players, who are disappointed club owner Con Constantine will not use Football Federation Australia-approved additional service agreements third-party sponsorships to help retain players.
Tsatsimas said he could understand if players were unhappy but argued they had no knowledge of Newcastle's salary-cap situation.
"Obviously they're on an emotional roller-coaster at the moment they've achieved something unique," Tsatsimas said.
"It's never been done in this town before, and obviously emotion will take over in the immediate aftermath of the grand final.
"But, having said that, reality will set in and players will move on.
"I'm sure they would like to play another 15 years together, but that's not going to happen."
Tsatsimas said he had spoken to "a couple" of Newcastle's leading players and reassured them the club would field a competitive team next season.
"Their opinions are respected but, to be honest, the players aren't the ones dealing with the economic realities," he said.
"And every player who comes off contract always seeks a bit more money.
"But certain players don't see the bigger picture; they think if their teammate asks for X, Y or Z, they have to get it.
"Well, that's not the case."
Newcastle lost five high-quality players at the end of last season, and coach Gary van Egmond was forced to reinvent his squad from within, especially when South American imports Mario Jardel, Jorge Drovandi and Denni made little impact.
Tsatsimas pointed out that Newcastle were tipped to finish seventh or eighth this season by some critics, who felt they would be unable to replace the big-name departures.
"You look at the calibre of the players we lost: the Johnny Warren Medallist [Nick Carle], Milton Rodriguez, Paul Okon, Vaughan Coveny and Tim Brown," Tsatsimas said.
"They were quality players, but we recovered.
"One goes out another comes in.
"Obviously you've got to do your recruitment properly and diligently.
"I've spoken to a couple of players, and there is no cause for panic.
"We lost five players last year, and we didn't fall apart.
"They were concrete, hardcore, first-team players. I don't see it being any different [to this season].
"Every club has lost players. The focus is probably on Newcastle because we ended up winning the grand final."
The Jets appear resigned to losing Bridge, who reportedly signed a letter of intent to join Sydney months ago.
"There's nothing we can do in relation to that," Tsatsimas said.
"We've had dialogue regarding the player. If that's the case, we'll be moving on and looking at other alternatives."
Tsatsimas said the departure of Bridge and Durante would "absolutely" free up funds to re-sign Musialik, the highly rated midfielder who was born and bred in Newcastle.
"We're having conversations with his management. Ideally we would like to have resolved it by now," he said.
"That's the nature of player negotiations, and we're talking, which is the main thing."
He dismissed suggestions that Newcastle were at a major disadvantage because of Constantine's reluctance to use service agreements.
"The ASAs are not heavily used by other clubs, bar one or two clubs," he said.
"It's a myth being propagated that the ASAs are the be-all and end-all. They're not."
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