Mariners seething over Miller’s defection to rival Jets

Whatever Matt Millar goes on to achieve with Newcastle, it’s doubtful anything the young winger does will be seen as incendiary as the manner in which he left the club.

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Whatever Matt Millar goes on to achieve with Newcastle, it’s doubtful anything the young winger does will be seen as incendiary as the manner in which he switched from one side of the F3 rivalry to the other.

Sent home from Mariners training on Thursday after informing club officials he had signed a contract for next season with Newcastle, Millar will still play for the Central Coast on Saturday against Melbourne Victory – but his current side’s angst over his deal is obvious.

Months after being brought in from the NPL and forcing his way into the A-League basement dweller’s first XI, Millar told Mariners boss Mike Mulvey he felt he would develop better at Newcastle, after signing a two-year deal.

Matt Millar celebrates after scoring against the Brisbane Roar this season. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)

Though Mulvey made dark allusions to an illegal approach to his player, the Jets responded by insisting they had notified the Mariners of their plans to negotiate with Millar last year, as they can with any player coming off contract.

But Mulvey made little attempt to hide his disappointment over Millar’s choice, though he said it would be “cutting off your nose to spite your face” not to play him against Victory.

“Matt was nowhere five or six months ago, Central Coast Mariners gave him that opportunity,” he said “We developed him into the player he is, and he’s now decided that his future lies elsewhere.

“The boy really understands that we wanted to keep him a long time ago, it’s not just now. We’re thinking about next season with regard to the retention and recruitment of players.

“So Matt Millar knew, and his agent knew, very well, that we wanted to keep him. We just didn’t have the opportunity to table the offer before he signed the contact at Newcastle.

“It came down to the lad, whether he wanted to stay to play for the club or whether he was going to go and play for Newcastle.

Mike Mulvey was far from happy with the decision by Matt Millar. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

“He came in yesterday (Thursday) morning and said he changed his mind four or five times and he thought he would be better developed by going to Newcastle.

“He made that decision and it was a difficult time for Matt. He’s a really popular guy among our group but he’s made a decision and he needs to live with that decision.

“I’m comfortable with that because he’s a human being. If he had his time again, maybe he would have waited because the offer we actually tabled was quite a good deal more than what he’s going to earn at Newcastle next season.

“But it’s done. By sending him home yesterday, it allowed him to clear his head and allowed us to clear our heads.

“The Jets wanted to take him by the transfer deadline and they were offering five of their players who are in the first team squad.”

“We didn’t think that was the right thing to do. He’s here today, he’s training (and) Matt will play tomorrow. It’s up to him to live in the spotlight.

“You don’t cut your nose to spite your face. He’s been playing very well for us.”

DE JONG - I THOUGHT MY KNEE WAS BUSTED

Sydney FC marquee Siem de Jong has revealed how he feared his knee had been broken in the tackle which has sidelined him for the second time this season.

Though de Jong hopes to return to training this week, almost two weeks after the tackle from Wellington captain Andrew Durante that inadvertently damaged his knee, the club expects him to be missing for at least another fortnight with what was eventually diagnosed as bone bruising.

Siem de Jong of Sydney FC (right) is assisted from the field after injuring his knee against Wellingto. (AAP Image/SNPA, Ross Setford)

The tackle came as de Jong scored the winner in round 15, adding to the hamstring tear that ruled him out for four weeks after the derby in Round 2.

Still in some pain, de Jong said he remains relieved that his worst fears had not been realised against Phoenix.

“It’s not too bad, a lot better than what I expected on the pitch when it happened,” he said. “I felt a crack inside the knee and it was really painful so I thought something was broken.

“Afterwards we could see it probably wasn’t the cruciate ligament or something like that had snapped, and then the scan back in Sydney looked ok.

“So basically it’s bone bruising, the bones hit each other in the knee at the time and that’s what caused the pain.

“It’s still actually a bit sore, but hopefully I’ll be able to do something after this weekend and get into training as quickly as possible, maybe training next week.”

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