Socceroos great Mark Milligan is the latest man charged with ending the Newcastle Jets' painful finals drought after landing his first head coach role with the A-League Men club.
Milligan, 39, who has signed until the end of the 2026-27 season, had long been expected to take the reins after the Jets parted ways with Rob Stanton before the season finished.
Newcastle haven't made the finals since they lost the 2017-18 grand final to Melbourne Victory, when Ernie Merrick was coach.
It is a lack of success that burns even more given arch-rivals Central Coast have enjoyed a trophy-laden stint in that time.
Newcastle will hope Milligan, who was a highly rated assistant at Adelaide United under Carl Veart from 2022-25 before working under Peter Cklamovski with the Malaysian men's national team, can turn the tide.
"I am excited and thankful for the opportunity to be the club's new A-League Men's head coach," Milligan said in a statement.
"It is exciting times under the new ownership of the Newcastle Jets, and it was clear very early on that their strategy is consistent with my vision for the Jets, which will be built on player development and ultimately achieve team success."
Milligan played for Newcastle in 2008-09, but was most prolific at Melbourne Victory. He also had multiple stints playing overseas.
But he is best known as an uncompromising defensive midfielder/centre-back across 80 caps with the Socceroos, attending four World Cups and winning the 2015 Asian Cup.
Milligan retired from international football and finished his club career at Macarthur, before moving into coaching.
"As we progressed through the process of identifying a new A-League Men's head coach, it became clear that Mark was well placed to take the club into a new era," Jets chairman Maurice Bisetto said on Tuesday.
"Mark has made the transition to coaching seamlessly and we are excited to have him onboard as a leader in our organisation.
"We are confident Mark will be able to instil a strong culture across all facets of the club, including building a winning team that the region can be proud of."
