Now that dedication for so many years is paying off.

For so long the understudy to Moss, now Italiano has the chance to stake his claim as an A-League regular at the Jets with the Kiwi's retirement.

"I’ve been under a fantastic goalkeeper, I’ve been second choice behind him for quite some time," he said.

"I did four seasons with him at the Phoenix. From kicking the ball on the field to off the field mannerisms and how to act, I definitely learned a lot off him.

"I’ve learnt a lot off him, and now if I can transition that into playing games and be the shot-stopper that he was, with a fantastic career, would be unbelievable."

Italiano is determined to take his chance. The 1.91 metre shot-stopper has become a regular under Carl Robinson as the Jets aim for an unlucky finals berth.

"We now we have a new coach Carl who’s brought a new style of football, which is really enjoyable," Italiano said.

"It’s a new learning curve. We’re always learning in this game and I’m really enjoying it at the moment."

Newcastle's season resumes on July 21 against defending champions Sydney FC. The Jets will likely need to win all of their remaining games to finish in the top six.

But if they do it would be some reward for this 29-year-old who has refused to throw in the towel.

"Sydney FC are playing Friday night, so they get a bit of a headstart," Italiano said.

"But we’re doing what we’re doing to prepare for that game, it will be good to finally get back on the field after three months. We play to win, we play to enjoy ourselves as well. We want to win these last four games, we want to go off with a bang.

"We want to get into these finals."