Jets use blueprint for new recruits

THE NEWCASTLE HERALD

JETS coach Gary van Egmond said the club would use the recruitment of South Korean youth international Song Jin-hyung as a blueprint for the way they go about signing overseas players for next season.

Van Egmond anticipated the club would need "four to five players" to fill the roster for next year.

He said it was likely they would look within Australia for a replacement for departed central defender Andrew Durante, who has joined Wellington Phoenix, but would look abroad for some attacking players.

The A-League coach of the year went on a recruitment trip to Brazil and Argentina last year but returned empty-handed, and the club ended up signing South Americans Jorge Drovandi and Denni from DVDs.

Drovandi made just one appearance a 30-minute cameo in the first game of the season before he was pushed towards the exit sign and eventually cut loose from the Jets squad. Denni was not re-signed after failing to earn a regular starting spot.

Van Egmond said the Jets had learned a valuable lesson from the way they recruited overseas players last year and would do things differently this time around.

"I think we've got to heed the lessons from last year, and I think whoever comes over, especially if they're not well-known, will need to trial," van Egmond said.

"The one thing which is good at the moment is that we are training and there's no problem for these players to come over and for us to have a good look at them, and I think that's the only way it can happen.

"I think what we did with Song was the right way of going about it as it turned out, Song is obviously a quality player.

"He was prepared to train with us for a week to 10 days, and it went about its course the right way.

"I think it's important that we are diligent. We definitely need to bring them in and let them have a look . . . not only the fact of us looking at them but them to look at us as well."

The Jets have also lost striker Mark Bridge (Sydney FC), Paul Kohler (released) and Steve Eagleton (retired).

They also look to have lost holding midfielder Stuart Musialik, but van Egmond has not given up hope of re-signing the Newcastle-bred Olyroo, saying: "It's not 100 per cent yet, so we'll just keep in touch with his manager and see what happens."

Van Egmond is now working with club management to put together a list of players to complete the squad for next season.

"The situation is that we know what type of player we want," van Egmond said.

"Whether that's someone that's within the country or outside the country is debatable at the moment.

"We need a central defender, and I would suggest that would be more so someone from within Australia; but we need a wide player, further up the field that could well be an overseas player, and obviously one at the point, which could be an overseas player as well."

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