OUTGOING Newcastle Jets coach Craig Deans has called on his squad to focus on beating Perth Glory on Saturday to honour the club's old boys, rather than as a send-off for him or players potentially having their final home game.
Deans shocked players and staff on Thursday when announcing he was standing down as coach after this season, despite having just four months in the full-time role and with a year to run on his contract.
He cited the strain of the top job and his previous roles at the struggling club.
It came amid speculation linking former Jets youth coach and A-League assistant Arthur Papas to the head role at Newcastle, who sit last on the A-League ladder.
Saturday's match against Perth, who are out of the finals race, will be Deans' final home A-League game in charge. Newcastle have an away catch-up match with Melbourne City remaining as well as the FFA Cup. It could also be the last match at home for skipper Nigel Boogaard and fellow veteran defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley, who are off contract.
Deans, though, said the focus was on winning on old boys' day and avoiding the wooden spoon. They sit on 17 points, one below Victory.
"We spoke this morning, the group, and the focus is not on what I spoke about yesterday, the focus now is to win the game tomorrow and make sure that we are respectful of the day, the occasion," Deans said.
"The old boys are here to watch, so to make sure they go home happy and get a performance that makes them proud to be Newcastle Jets, KB United, Breakers players."
Asked if it could be the last game at home for Boogaard and Topor-Stanley, Deans said: "That's not my decision anymore. And that's the burden I carry now, is that I've made that decision for myself and the club, and now that has a domino effect on some other people, which is unfortunately the nature of the business.
"I apologised to the players because it's not ideal, especially for the older ones and the ones coming out of contract, because they now have to prove themselves again, so I carry that burden with me now.
"You'd have to ask [the players] what they think [of the situation] but that's football unfortunately. You become a bit numb to things like this the longer you are in the game, they just become normal."
Striker Roy O'Donovan is another experienced player off contract.
The squad put in a spirited, high-energy training session at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday in preparation for the Perth clash.
Deans said "there was nothing today that hasn't really happened before" at training this season and the players continued to show their professionalism.
He said his message to players on Thursday at his announcement was the same he then gave to the media.
"I think it's a credit to the players, there's been a lot going on but we, myself in particular, try to put a positive spin on and it's not easy on the players either. People need to remember that. It's tough for them," he said.
"But you'd have to ask them what they think [of Deans stepping down].
"Some will be happy, some will be unhappy, that's the nature of the business, but I think they are professional, they are respectful of themselves and the club and they will do the best they can do to make sure we win the game.
"I want to go out winning games because we don't want to finish last and we want to go through to the next round of the FFA Cup and that's purely the motivation for myself and I'm sure the players will be the same.
"Obviously whatever happened yesterday has happened and now the whole focus is on the game tomorrow and making sure the supporters that come along on Old Boys' Day get a performance they are happy with from the team and we get another three points."
The Jets are backing up from a 2-0 upset of Central Coast on Tuesday night but have two players missing from that squad.
Off-contract defender Lachlan Jackson was released on Thursday to take up a deal in Korea, while Johnny Koutroumbis went down with an ankle injury.
Deans said veteran Ali Abbas would come in for Koutroumbis, but he was unsure about Jackson's replacement at the back.
"[Koutroumbis] had scans late last night so we don't have the results back yet from that but he obviously won't be a part of this game, so that's a big loss for us," Deans said.
"I thought the first half that he played on Tuesday was very good. I thought he added a lot to the team.
"Ali came on just after half-time and we defended well for the second half. We were under pressure for long periods and Ali did a good job, so he'll come in tomorrow and he's got plenty of experience. He's a fighter and he's a winner, so he'll add those qualities to the team."
Deans felt the Jets' had not been far away from getting a result in the three games before Tuesday's win.
"We just need to continue doing what we've doing," he said. "Perth obviously now are not in the finals, so they will probably come with a bit of freedom and a carefree attitude I would imagine. And they will want to finish their season in a good way."
Meanwhile, the Jets' game against premiers City will go ahead next week, at a date yet to be fixed, after the A-League finals were extended.
The league announced on Friday that the Jets-City clash would have to be played after this weekend's scheduled final round of games, because of the COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria. City will play their first final, against the lowest-ranked qualifier, on June 18, at a venue to be determined.
