To see Newcastle Jets train...

 

 

 

 

 

Last season the club effectively had two marquees with Joel Griffiths signed up as the big money player but when he went on loan to Beijing Guoan, Italian Fabio Vignaroli moved onto the marquee contract to replace him.

Since then though, Jets have sold Griffiths to Guoan, and Vignaroli returned home to Italy after picking up a serious injury midway through last season.

Vignaroli last year signed a one year contract with an option for an extension, but it is unlikely the club will offer the 33 year old a return to the Hunter next season.

That leaves the Jets with a 19 man squad and one compulsory under 20 player still to be signed...but Culina said it was unlikely all remaining three slots would then be filled - and none of them are likely to be a marquee.

So far the club has added former Sydney FC's Ruben Zadkovich following his injury-plagued nightmare in the UK with Derby County, veteran Aussie midfielder Kasey Wehrman after eight years in Norway's Tippeligaen, and ex-North Queensland Fury and New Zealand international Jeremy Brockie.

"Our marquees are the players we've got," said the coach as the club launched their pre-season training in Newcastle yesterday.

"Marko Jesic could be one of those. He's like a new signing and I'm excited about having him on board. We'll worry about who we've got rather than who we haven't got."

He sidestepped speculation on how hard the club could challenge for a top four spot at the end of the season but insisted his side aimed for the top.

"It's hard to predict," he admitted. "We will be endeavouring to finish as high as we possibly can with what we've got.

"We will compete. We will be competitive - that's what we will be aiming at. Any coach at this stage of the season who doesn't think they will make the finals and hopefully do well in the finals shouldn't be coaching.

"We're no different. We had that last time when we finished last and thankfully we did quite well."

He added: "This year the expectation isn't what other people expect of us but from ourselves. We want to go that little bit further."

Changes in A-League rules this year now allow clubs to sign both an Australian and an International marquee next season.

With some Socceroos tipped to return to the A-League after the World Cup, the deep pockets of clubs like Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory, Gold Coast United and Melbourne Heart could leave smaller clubs like the Jets floundering.

But Culina is still optimistic of the talent and depth to his side, even with the departure of inspirational skipper Matt Thompson to new rivals Heart next season.

"If you look at the improvement that is in this team, I am very confident that we can bridge that gap that may have been there last year between us and the top couple of clubs," said Branko.

"We have 19 signed players, the U20 vacancy will bring it to 20, we may sign one more, but max at 22. We'll leave it there in case there's a player we want to sign later on."

He added: "We want one quality player.

"It's no secret that we've been looking for a striker, someone that can score 10 or 12 goals. If you look at Gold Coast or Victory with Archie in the past, they all have strikers that can score 12 goals. That's why they are there.

"We need to be aiming to get someone who can do that for us. If we can then I think we will be close in doing what we want  to achieve."

To see Newcastle Jets train...