Ernie Merrick knows this all too well. He led Newcastle Jets to a grand final in May 2018. About 20 months later - with the Jets dwindling at the bottom of the ladder - he found himself out of a job.

It took the Jets a month to appoint their new coach - Welshman Carl Robinson. His first game in charge will be Saturday's match away to Western Sydney Wanderers.

Robinson has a tough job ahead of him. The Jets remain bottom of the ladder, with only one win in 10 games.

The new coach will be eager to record some positive results early on to win over the fans. Like all committed sporting cities, the Newcastle public demands success.

As Newcastle soccer legend Craig Johnston once said, Novocastrians are "inexorably linked to the exploits and failures of their sports teams" - the Jets and the Knights.

"Self esteem is wrapped up in the teams, even if we don't know it," said Johnston, a star of the successful 1980s Liverpool team.

Robinson was an interesting appointment for the Jets. Merrick, 67, was the most experienced coach in the A-League. He was also highly successful, having won two championships [grand finals] and two premierships [top of the ladder in the regular season].

In contrast, Robinson is relatively inexperienced. The 43-year-old coached Vancouver Whitecaps in the Major Soccer League [MLS] for five years. He led his side to victory in the Canadian Championship in 2015 and made the MLS play-offs on three occasions.

Newcastle is his second head coaching job. He also has a good playing pedigree. He had a long career with respected clubs like Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sunderland and Norwich City in England. He also played 52 times for Wales.

He was mentioned in the British press as a contender to take over the coaching role of the Wales national team, prior to former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs being given the job in 2018. And he reportedly turned down the Costa Rican national team job last October. The Jets obviously see potential. And Robinson is clearly not looking for a quick paycheck. He's committed to a long-term stint and to what many coaches in football call a "project".

This essentially means the coach is seeking time to instill his philosophy, values and playing style onto the team. Let's hope that, in good time, the Jets' glory days return.

ISSUE: 39,530.