“We've got a good history of players coming to this club and not leaving too early,” Gorman told au.fourfourtwo.com ahead of Aloisi's unveiling in front of the media in Sydney today.

"So we'd be confident of holding onto John long-term. We'll be working hard to give John every opportunity to establish himself at our club and in our community.

"And of course on the international scene with the Socceroos as well as working hard to make it attractive enough to consider staying in the A-League.”

Aloisi signed on Saturday as a replacement for the long-term injured Matt Osman. He has signed till the end of the Mariners' current A-League campaign.

“John's one of the most humble international footballers you'd meet," added Gorman.

"He gets in at 5.10am on Tuesday morning and he says, 'don't worry, I'll get a taxi to Gosford'. I told him John, that's not quite how we work.”

One disappointing aspect of a standout season has been the crowds at Bluetongue Stadium. The league leaders have struggled to hit the 10,000 mark outside of derby matches.

Gorman says it's now or never for closet Coast fans now that Aloisi is in a yellow shirt.

“We strongly believe bringing in a player of John's iconic status into the club will increase our crowds dramatically. The supporters are there."

He added: "If they don't come now, they'll never come.”