Newcastle were thumped 4-0 against Sydney FC with ex Jet Mark Bridge among the scorers for the home team at the SFS.

Van Egmond said: “We’re obviously undermanned, and we went down to a goal early on then it snowballed from there.

"We then went down two (goals) and if we scored the next goal we probably would have got ourselves back in the game.

“It was probably not the greatest performance but considering who we had out there it’s going to be a little bit harsh on the younger kids, it’s a real baptism of fire for a few of them, it’s just a matter of them learning from that and looking to see how they respond to it."

The Jets will return to action in March when they begin their maiden AFC Champions League campaign.

The future of players such as Joel Griffiths and Mark Milligan remains uncertain however with a Chinese exit likely for both.