Mariners ink deals for Tommy Oar and Ross McCormack

Central Coast Mariners have pulled off a sensational pair of signings in Tommy Oar and Ross McCormack.

Ross McCormack celebrates scoring for Melbourne City in the A-League last season. Picture: Getty Images

Central Coast Mariners have been the laughing stock of the A-League in recent seasons, but the bad days could be behind them after the club pulled off a sensational pair of signings in Tommy Oar and Ross McCormack.

As foreshadowed in The Weekend Australian last week, the Mariners confirmed yesterday that former Socceroo Oar and the controversial but classy Scottish striker McCormack will be part of what club owner Mike Charlesworth describes “as one of the most lethal attacking front thirds in the A-League”.

Oar, who returns to the national competition after a stint in Europe, has signed a two-year deal, while McCormack joins on a loan deal from English championship club Aston Villa.

The luring of the two stars is a considerable shift in direction for Charlesworth, who has come in for his fair share of criticism from Mariners fans over his handling of the club, particularly his failure to provide significant funding for new players and his reluctance to spend the full $2.928 million salary cap.

Central Coast have been more like a transit lounge for players in recent times with the emphasis on bargain buys and keeping a tight rein on the budget.

But Charlesworth says now is the time to start making the sort of decisions that will make a significant impact on the club.

“We have had our fair share of ups and downs over the past few seasons, but right now I feel particularly optimistic about the club’s future,” he said. “It is time to capitalise and make the big decisions … we are ready to go.”

Those ups and downs have seen the Mariners go from A-League champions in 2013 to finishing with the wooden spoon in two of the past three seasons. They have not made the finals since 2014 and have won just 18 of their past 118 games in the A-League, leaving their fans despairing and the critics questioning their future in the national competition.

But with new coach Mike Mulvey at the helm plus the addition of Oar, McCormack, Kalifa Cisse, Matt Simon, Corey Gameiro, Aiden O’Neill, Jack Clisby, Michael McGlinchey, Jordan Murray and Mario Shabow to the squad, there’s a real sense of excitement out Gosford way.

And there is still the matter of whether Usain Bolt can make a fist of a new career in football. The fastest man in the world is trialling for a contract with the Mariners.

A Scottish international with 13 caps, McCormack, 32, was a sensation with Melbourne City last season, scoring 14 times in 16 appearances before his loan deal finished and he returned to Aston Villa in January. However, he remained frozen out at Villa for the latter part of the 2017-18 season and the early part of this season.

Meanwhile, Western Sydney midfielder Kearyn Baccus could face disciplinary action following his act of petulance during Wednesday night’s 2-1 FFA Cup win over Melbourne City.

A clearly upset Baccus was shown throwing his shorts to the ground in anger as he walked to the dressing room after being substituted in the 57th minute.

Unimpressed coach Markus Babbel said he will talk to Baccus about the incident while Wanderers chief executive John Tsatsimas told The Australian “we will be addressing it”.