FURIOUS at what he believed was a personal attack, Jets owner Con Constantine said he would be prepared to sell the club to Football Federation Australia if the governing body believed it could do a better job.Constantine has accused the FFA of inducing coach Gary van Egmond to walk away from a four-year deal at the Jets to take up a position at the Australian Institute of Sport allegations the governing body vehemently denied.After initially seeking compensation, Constantine, who has poured more than $15 million into the Jets but has had a history of run-ins with the FFA over his management style, made the astonishing admission that he would give up the club."I love football to the death," an emotional Constantine told The Herald yesterday. "From a young age I have loved it so much that I can't talk about it without tears coming down my eyes."What they [FFA] did was very wrong."If the FFA or the hierarchy above the FFA want to take over the club, all they have to do is come over and say 'Con, we want to take over'. "They can give me X amount of millions and they can move forward."When asked if he was fair dinkum, he replied: "If they are going to come out and bad-mouth my credibility, if they are going to discriminate against what I am doing, if they are going to come out and say things are not right, if they think they can do better yes. "I am not going to tolerate or take crap from anyone . . . I am not going to be kicked around or spat out."Van Egmond was recruited for the new role by FFA executives. His official employer will be the AIS, but his salary will be augmented by the FFA.An FFA spokeswoman said Constantine had expressed his disappointment at the FFA's involvement in the process to chief executive Ben Buckley last night but did not raise the issue of the governing body taking over the club."The discussion was amicable," she said. The spokeswoman rejected any suggestion that the FFA had it in for Constantine."It is not accurate that we do not support Constantine," she said."We fully appreciate his commitment to the Newcastle Jets."Van Egmond's decision to resign has left Constantine less than six weeks to find a replacement before the Jets kick off their 2009-10 A-League campaign against Wellington.Technical director Branko Culina and assistant coach Mark Jones are believed to be the favourites.But Culina heads overseas on a holiday today and is not expected back until July 20, and Jones is in Vietnam, where his daughter Adriana is playing for the Australian under 14s. He is not due back until July 11.The Jets resume training on Monday. Van Egmond, with the FFA's blessing, has offered to stay on until a replacement was found, but Constantine quickly knocked that on the head."I don't want him to help out for four weeks. I don't want him to help out for four minutes," the owner said."Am I disappointed with Gary van Egmond? Absolutely, 100 per cent."But I am more disappointed with the FFA."The FFA really let us down, and as far as the A-League is concerned that is a no-no."It does not matter if it was the AIS that took Gary van Egmond, the FFA knew about it."I'm here saying to myself, why the hell did the FFA and the AIS get involved taking away a coach who has already signed a four-year deal?"The FFA were adamant van Egmond was not tied to the Jets."Our understanding is Gary is unencumbered in taking up that position," the spokeswoman said."Obviously, the transition from one role to the other is sensitive and has to be undertaken so that the timing suits all parties, including the Newcastle Jets, and is within existing contractual obligations."Van Egmond, who turned 44 yesterday and has spent eight years at Newcastle United in various roles, admitted the timing of his resignation was not the best."I suppose the timing is poor given where the season is," he said."When is a good time? That is the question."With the [AIS] job coming up now, it was not something planned, it just happened. They asked me if I was interested in applying a while ago. "When I got back from Pohang I was told that I was the preferred candidate. "Things happened very quickly from there."Van Egmond said he had acted in accordance with directions from the FFA."Everything I have done has been under instruction from them," he said. Van Egmond's decision to leave the club comes less than a year after he signed an extension to stay until 2013."You have ideas of grandeur when you sign a long-term deal," he said."You want to make it into a Brisbane Broncos or an Essendon. "You want to build a club that is going to be up there and about there all the time. At this moment I do not think we can do that. "We have the potential, but right at this moment I don't know if it can happen."Despite his assessment, the former coach of the year believed the club was in a better position than when he was given the job."We have been in the final series three out of the four years," he said."We won the premiership and got through to the second stage of the Champions League."The club is in a better position than when I first came in, and I think the next person will have an easier transition."I was very green around the gills when I first came in. "The person coming in next won't have to be. It is pretty established in a lot of ways."