Central Coast Mariners sacked coach Mike Mulvey after he lost the players, writes Tom Smithies

Axed Mariners boss Mike Mulvey’s fate was sealed after the 8-2 pummelling suffered at the hands of Wellington. But TOM SMITHIES writes a meeting before Saturday’s game set the wheels in motion.

GOSFORD, AUSTRALIA — MARCH 09: Mike Mulvey coach of the Central Coast Mariners during the round 21 A-League match between the Central Coast Mariners and the Wellington Phoenix at Central Coast Stadium on March 09, 2019 in Gosford, Australia. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

The fate of axed Mariners boss Mike Mulvey was sealed after the club shipped 13 goals in two games and players told the club hierarchy they had lost faith in his coaching strategy.

Mulvey was fired late on Saturday night after watching his side crash to an 8-2 loss at home to Wellington hours before, a result that followed a 5-3 defeat to Brisbane Roar at Central Coast Stadium eight days earlier.

Before Saturday’s game, club officials had met with a group of disillusioned members to map out the plans to address five years of horror performances.

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The Mariners have finished eighth or 10th every year since last making the finals in 2013-14, and are now seeking their fifth coach in that period.

Chief executive Shaun Mielekamp told the fans that everyone at the club had been put on notice that they had to justify their role for next season, whether on the playing staff or in the club offices.

The scoreboard at 90 minutes said it all. Pic: Getty Images

But club officials had already been made aware that the playing staff had lost faith in Mulvey, and moved to fast track what was an increasingly likely to be a parting of the ways at the end of the season.

Mulvey declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Telegraph, but is expected to negotiate a settlement in the coming days.

His arrival last May as an experienced, title-winning coach had coincided with increased investment in the playing squad, including the recruitment of former Socceroo Tommy Oar and Aston Villa striker Ross McCormack.

But Oar has been injured for much of the season, while McCormack scored once in five games before Christmas and after returning to the UK to have an injury assessed, decided against returning.

It’s the end of the road for Mike Mulvey at the Central Coast Mariners. Pic: Getty Images

At the time the club said the money saved on McCormack’s wages would be reinvested in another striker, but ultimately brought in only two teenagers on loan from Sheffield United and English journeyman midfielder Jem Karacan.

Some will also question whether the Usain Bolt experiment proved a distraction, though Mulvey always insisted publicly and privately that he supported the three-month trial that the Olympic sprinter was granted.