Newcastle Jets coach Ernie Merrick will hand Angus Thurgate just a second A-League start and bring Jack Simmons into his squad for a possible debut when they take on Brisbane Roar on Saturday at Suncorp Stadium.
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The Jets were knocked officially out of the finals race with their 1-0 away loss to premiers Perth on Sunday, although Merrick had previously declared his side had no chance of making the top six.
Merrick said on Wednesday that the focus for the last two games, against Brisbane and then Sydney at home, was about "building for next year".
He said Thurgate, who has one start in seven games, would step up and Joeys representative Simmons would come into the squad. Fellow age internationals Joey Champness, Ivan Vujica and Johnny Koutroumbis would all start again.
He said some senior players would be given a rest and kept fresh for the final game against Sydney.
"We've signed most of the players and it's all about preparing players for next year now," Merrick said.
"With two more games, a couple of weeks extra training, we'll finish on the 10th of May and we'll be back on the 1st of July, and we'll have a very intensive pre-season training and the good part is the continuity is there because a lot of these boys know our game plan and because we've re-signed them it will be more about finalising in the front third."
He said he wanted to keep off-contract striker Roy O'Donovan and the club was working hard to re-sign him. The club has offered O'Donovan a one-year extension.
As for off-contract imports Ronny Vargas and Jair, Merrick said: "I can't speak for those two".
He said the club's recruitment would focus on "a striker, winger or attacking midfielder or two".
