UPDATE: Newcastle Jets have confirmed that they have given permission for head coach Carl Robinson to enter discussions with Western Sydney Wanderers.
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The club on Wednesday said it had granted permission for the communications and would not comment further.
Original story:
NEWCASTLE Jets will assemble for pre-season training on October 26 after the players agreed in principle to a new pay deal.
However, there is doubt as to whether coach Carl Robinson and assistant Kenny Miller will be there to greet them.
Robinson has a three-year deal at the Jets but has been linked to a move to Western Sydney Wanderers as a replacement for Jean-Paul de Marigny, who was sacked suddenly on Monday.
The former Welsh international could not be contacted on Tuesday night. Jets chief executive Lawrie McKinna said he was aware of the speculation but had not been notified by Robinson or Wanderers of any interest in the coach's services.
"Carl has a three-year deal here," McKinna said. "He is our coach. If there is anything in it (speculation), someone should get in contact with the club officially. I have not spoken to [Wanderers CEO] John Tsatsimas or anyone from Wanderers. I'm sure, with the relationship I have with Carl, he would raise it with me."
Ufuk Talay, who took Wellington Phoenix to third place last season, former Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi, Perth assistant Hayden Foxe and Yokohama F. Marinos assistant Arthur Pappas have also been thrown up as candidates for the Wanderers position.
Wanderers begin pre-season training on Thursday and an official announcement on their new coach is expected before the end of the week.
It would be of little surprise if clubs were interested in Robinson, who has been joined in Newcastle by wife Laura and 11-year-old son, Milo.
However, unless the Jets have been in breach of his contract, it would seem the Robinson revolution will continue in the Hunter.
The Jets don't have the same resource as the Wanderers. Jets owner Martin Lee has reduced his funding of the club dramatically and has been unsuccessful in his bid to sell the franchise.
The Jets were close to finalising a sale to Melbourne-based investment company Sky Jade Capital, which has links to China. However that company has reportedly withdrawn from the process.
It has left the Jets in a precarious financial position at a time they have been hit hard by losses of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robinson, appointed in February to replace Ernie Merrick, took the Jets from bottom of the ladder to within three points of the play-offs. In 10 games, they recorded six wins, three draws and just the one loss and were transformed into a possession-based outfit.
The Jets' 16 senior players and three scholarship players are expected to be on deck for the start of pre-season training.
McKinna said details of the new pay deal were confidential but, with the salary cap to drop from $3.2 million to $2.1m next season, he confirmed the players had accepted a wage cut.
"We have agreed in principle and are waiting on a new document from FFA," McKinna said. "Once we get that we will sit down with the players and get them to sign a contract. Our negotiations have been good. They have not been rushed. We have just worked through them. Everything has been done properly."
A new collective bargaining agreement is also close to being finalised. The A-League season is slated to start in late December.
"The boys will come in on October 26," McKinna said. "They will do a couple of days testing and then get into it."
The Jets on Tuesday, sent want-away attacker Joey Champness a letter confirming he is expected to fulfill his three-year contract.
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