CHIEF executive Lawrie McKinna has been inundated with interest in the Jets coaching position, including an approach from former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and several other high-profile candidates, and expects to make an appointment within a fortnight.
McKinna is compiling a shortlist of potential replacements for Ernie Merrick, who was shown the door on Monday after a run of poor results, culminating with a 4-0 hammering to Melbourne Victory.
He has received more than 20 emails, of which "about half" were from overseas.
Apart from Eriksson, the Newcastle Herald understands that Socceroos assistant coach Tony Vidmar has flagged interest.
Former Jets captain Paul Okon, former Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City boss John Aloisi and Arthur Papas, who is an assistant to Ange Postecoglou at Japanese champions Yokohama Marinos, have also been touted as potential candidates.
"There are names coming in from everywhere, every country," McKinna said. "We will look through the list and if we think there are any holes, we might make a few phone calls. We need someone who's going to come in and offer something, has got a bit of a track record and can stamp something here and be here for the right reasons as well.
"There's going to be interest from all over but there's no defined (type of coach) - we want somebody who can come in and fit into the Newcastle culture and get results.
"Interviews will start next week and we definitely want it locked away before the trip to Wellington (January 24)."
Jets' W-League coach Craig Deans and assistant Li Qiang will take charge in the interim.
McKinna and youth team coach Daniel McBreen were also on deck at training on Tuesday as was new strength and conditioning coach Brice Johnson.
Deans, who will continue coaching the W-League side, will be on the sideline for the visit by runaway leaders Sydney FC on Friday night.
Harry Kewell applied for the role before Merrick was appointed in 2017 but McKinna said he had not heard from the Socceroos legend.
Eriksson, best known for his time in charge of England and Manchester City, most recently coached the Philippines after a stint in China with top-flight sides Guangzhou R&F and Shanghai SIPG.
"There's a lot of interest out there for any A-League job and some of the names... I got ex-English manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson's CV sent through yesterday," McKinna said
Merrick took the Jets from the wooden spoon to second place and a home grand final in his maiden season in 2017-18. They dropped to seventh place last season, missing the final by five points.
The trade war between China and US has impacted on Lee's business and he has cut the Jets budget. Marquee Ronny Vargas was not replaced, however, the club has used the full $3.25 million salary cap.
In August, Merrick, labelled the roster, which included new buys Nick Fitzgerald, Abdiel Arroyo, Wes Hoolahan, Matt Millar and Bobby Burns "probably the strongest squad since I've been at the club".
However, long-term injuries to Hoolahan, Arroyo and captain Nigel Boogaard have stretched the club's depth.
"It's a results-driven business," McKinna said on Tuesday. "We're sitting bottom of the league, copped a lot of goals over the last three or four weeks ... after the second goal (against Victory) you could see there was no fight there."
McKinna said funds would be available to add to the squad during the January transfer window.
"We've not got a lot of money but we've definitely got money to bring in a player or two," McKinna said. "There's a lot of good under-23 players with other teams who are looking for a game."
