The decision by Football Federation Australia to strip controversial owner Clive Palmer of his licence has left Gold Coast United all but finished and players' futures in doubt once the current regular season finishes on March 25.

But Gorman, who is in Wellington with the Gold Coast team for their match against the Phoenix, believes the turmoil of the last few weeks will help galvanise the game in Australia and he declared the short-term three-to-five year plan remained based around a strong 10-team competition.
 
"But that needs to be financially viable and sustainable in solid hands," said Gorman.

"You need the (business acumen) to take control of a club within the bigger framework so that we get rid of the instability that's in our game. We don't want to hit these pitfalls again."

Asked if a nine-team competition was completely out of the question or disadvantageous Gorman replied: "Is it where we want to sit, no it's not? Is it a little bit of a pain we could sit back and tolerate for one season while we better position a 10th team? It certainly is.

"But the (FFA) chairman (Frank Lowy) has been pretty clear this week in his statements that he vigorously and fastidiously wants to pursue a 10-team competition.

"It would be a blip in the long-term plan for the game but if we had to sit in that position I'm sure we would manage it very comfortably."

In recent years North Queensland Fury have gone to the wall, Wellington Phoenix were rescued at the start of the season by new owners stepping in, while it was Palmer's volatile behaviour that led to fellow expansion club Gold Coast United's current circumstances.

Gorman refused to be drawn on the prospects of Gold Coast, which has struggled to get fans through the gate, being involved next season, but player Joel Porter believes it is unlikely.

"It's a bit early to speculate in that regard," said Gorman.

"The future of the Gold Coast United Football Club is a matter we'll need to go back down into our own bunker and discuss and analyse.

"I've been in the market since last Tuesday night and listening to the key stakeholders –
Football Queensland and Gold Coast Football Association. I've met with the leader of the Beach fan group.

"We've got to go back and analyse what's best for the region but also what's best holistically for the future of the A-League."

Talk of a western Sydney club joining the A-League is again gaining momentum with Lowy declaring during the week: "I won't rest until we have a team in western Sydney."

But Gorman urged caution after previous attempts to establish a presence there failed at the last minute.

"There is no doubt that the football and business community of west Sydney deserve a football team of their own," he said.

"It's the birthplace of football in Australia. It's a logical place to have a football franchise. Under the establishment rules of the A-League we couldn't go there for the first five years because Sydney FC had exclusive rights.

"There was a false start there which we are not going to repeat and that's important we get that message across.

"To rush there or get it wrong would be equally bad. We need to sit back and talk to the other key decision-makers in the FFA to analyse the landscape.

"We hadn't planned this a week ago where we're at today so we need to take the time to ensure the absolute right decisions are made."