Stalled Jets rue season that failed to take off

A season that started with so much promise will end with a whimper for the Newcastle Jets.

Roy O'Donovan’s suspension ensured the Jets made a slow start to the season.

A season that started with so much promise will end with a whimper for the Newcastle Jets, but coach Ernie Merrick says, in hindsight, he wouldn’t have done too much differently.

Tipped to be a serious championship contender after falling just short in last season’s A-League grand final, the Jets never recovered after a poor start that saw them win just three times in their first 14 games.

Injuries and Roy O’Donovan’s nine-week suspension, a carry-over from being sent off in the dying minutes of the 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory in last season’s grand final, conspired to drive a stake into the club’s hopes.

While mathematically they managed to stay in finals contention up until the last three weeks of the season, realistically they were a spent force going into the final third of the competition.

It was tough for Merrick to take after he led the club to a wonderful year in his first season in charge.

The Jets won high praise for the inventiveness in their football and the exciting way they played as they pushed Sydney FC for top spot before falling just short in the race for the Premiers Plate.

The reward, however, was making the grand final, where a controversial goal consigned them to a heartbreaking defeat.

“It is very disappointing not to be in the finals again because we had the team, no matter whether we had trouble fielding a side because of suspensions and injuries,” Merrick said yesterday as Newcastle prepared for their penultimate game of a disappointing season, against Brisbane Roar in Brisbane tomorrow night.

“We should have been in the finals. Would I change anything? Hindsight is a wonderful thing. We just needed a bit more luck and composure in front of goal. We lead the statistics for most shots on goals this season.

“I look at the players available and the number of weeks some of them were out … Roy O’Donovan, Jason Hoffman, Joey Champness … it all adds up as well.

“It hurt us up front because our midfield didn’t come up with enough goals consistently.

“The thing is we have to learn from our mistakes and make sure we then get it right, and that is my responsibility and my responsibility alone.”

Merrick said he had already started the rebuilding process, having re-signed most of the squad, though the futures of O’Donovan and imports Jair and Ronny Vargas remain in doubt.

Daniela Georgievski is also off to Western Sydney.

“We are building for next year and we have signed most of the players and now it is all about preparing for next year,” Merrick said.

“We have two more games and a couple of extra weeks training. We will finish on May 10 and be back July 1.”

Merrick will look to finalise his front third and is hopeful O’Donovan’s future with Newcastle will be secured.

“Absolutely I want to keep Roy and the club is working hard on that,” Merrick said.

In the meantime, Merrick will give some of the younger players a chance in the final two games, with Angus Thurgate to start against Brisbane and Jack Simmons to come into squad.

“I’ll rest some of the senior players against Brisbane and use some of the younger guys then bring back the senior players for our last game against Sydney,” Merrick said.