Mombaerts will not travel with City for their coming games against Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets. The 64-year-old will instead remain in Melbourne as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 - a move that he says he is taking for the sake of his family.

Former club captain Kisnorbo will instead take charge of the A-League’s second-placed side in those games.

The 38-year-old has served as an assistant coach at A-League level since the 2018/19 season. Prior to that, former Leicester City and Leeds United defender had coaching stints with the club’s academy sides and won two W-League championships, the first as an assistant and second as Head Coach, with City’s women.  

“We had a training session this morning and I’m confident in our players and I’m confident in Patrick to coach the team, very confident,” Mombaerts said today.

“We are very close, and all things are prepared for the two games.

“[We] will keep in touch, maybe a few times a day."

Rostyn Griffiths and Adrian Luna will return suspension for City’s visit to Gosford, with Mombaerts indicating that all members of his squad – barring the continuing to rehabilitate pairing of Jack Hendry and Richard Windbichler – would be available for selection for the coming slate of games.

“If we compare the positions of [City and the Mariners] it seems easy, but A-League games are not easy,” said the City coach.

“The players know we have to perform to make the game easy. We have to play well. That’s why we concentrate on our game, our training. We have corrected some little things about how to perform.

“We are focused more on this, which is why I’m confident. All the time it’s difficult but we are also confident.”

However, with his club set to take on the Mariners on Friday night and then the Jets on Monday evening as part of the A-League’s effort to complete their remaining fixture as quickly as possible in the face of COVID-19, City’s gaffer admitted that he may need to rotate his squad to ensure maximal performance.

“We will play the first game [and then] analyse the first game,” he said.

“Because they are very close, and we want to perform for these two games so yes we have to look [at rotating]. It’s more about fatigue and the performance.

“It’s not automatic but yes, we will have to think about this, it’s possible.”

But the elephant in the room for City is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as it is for all A-League clubs and the competition’s administrators.

The FFA on Tuesday announced that all grassroots football was set to be suspended until at least 14 April in an attempt to battle the disease’s spread, with only the A-League and W-League Grand Final set to continue with modified arrangements and scheduling.

The AFL, AFLW and NRL have also signalled their intention to play on for as long as they can during the pandemic.

“I can’t answer this question… I’m not… I don’t have all the information about this,” Mombaerts responded when asked if he thought the league should continue.

“The A-League continues, AFL continue also, at the moment the situation is not so bad in Australia. It was the same in Europe. It started like this, and we will see.

“At the moment I don’t know but I’m sure there is no player [with] coronavirus.

“It’s difficult for me to answer because I haven’t gotten enough information.

“For us, it’s our case as a club, the club is involved to make our travelling, we have to respect the rules. We have to do this and respect the rules. The club makes this possible that all things are safe.

“We had some meetings and the players are… they know the situation and we are all close and they can ask Michael [Petrillo, City’s Director of Football] if they need something special.

“Also, a player can be worried about some of his family. We are open to hearing this, but at the moment there is nothing like that. We have also foreign players but at the moment they don’t have too much problem.

“For the others, for maybe Aussie players, it’s the same, they are worried about their families, they are worried about the situation but they think it’s ok at the moment.”