Newcastle boss Ernie Merrick calls for A-League grand final to flow, and for Jets to be ‘perfect hosts’

JETS boss Ernie Merrick has called for a festival of football in Saturday’s A-League grand final, with both teams eschewing negativity in the season’s climax.

Newcastle Jets coach Ernie Merrick hopes the A-League grand final will be a free-flowing game.

JETS boss Ernie Merrick has called for a festival of football in Saturday’s A-League grand final, with both teams eschewing negativity in the season’s climax.

Dubbing the semi-final in which Melbourne Victory knocked out Sydney FC last weekend a “horrible game of football”, Merrick – who won the title twice with Victory - said he would tell his players to be the “perfect hosts” as they seek to win only the Jets’ second ever A-League title.

VAN EGMOND: Jets have built platform for success

Anticipating a sell-out crowd upwards of 30,000 fans, Merrick said the game should be a showpiece for A-League football – what would be some form of antidote to a season with sliding crowds and TV ratings.

Newcastle Jets coach Ernie Merrick hopes the A-League grand final will be a free-flowing game.

Last weekend’s Big Blue semifinal produced seven yellow cards and 49 fouls, which Merrick called “stop-start” football.

“I don’t want this to turn into the Big Blue, an aggressive, antagonistic sort of game,” Merrick said. “It’s a privilege for me to be in a grand final between a team I’m coaching and a team I used to coach.

“We want to be the perfect hosts, and play good football - that’s what it’s all about.

Both teams are capable of good, flowing football, not this aggressive, stop-start stuff.

“I didn’t like the Sydney-Victory semifinal, to me that was a horrible game of football.

“It was exciting because of the goal in the last seconds, the own goals and the way it ended.

“But I think you have to try to play entertaining stuff or you’ll drive the crowds away. We’ll keep playing quick football, trying to get forward.

“We’ve scored more goals than ever before at this club this season which is a fantastic achievement.”

Originally published as Newcastle boss Ernie Merrick calls for A-League grand final to flow, and for Jets to be ‘perfect hosts’