Central Coast were edged 1-0 by Sydney FC at the SFS in a result that sees the Mariners hanging on to sixth spot on the A-League ladder. A strong second half performance was not enough for the yellow and navy to arrest their slide against a red-hot Sydney side.

But Mariners Trust chairman Peter Turnbull isn't panicking and despite the current gloom at Bluetongue, he is backing McKinna and wants the former Northern Spirit coach to remain at the club long-term.

"Lawrie is integral in the entire running of the club," Turnbull told au.fourfourtwo.com. "Lawrie's been there from day one. I believe that if you spoke to any club in the A-League, their opinions of Lawrie McKinna are sky high.

"And it certainly is with us. We hope Lawrie's here for a long, long time."

McKinna was under internal pressure following the club's unsuccessful Asian Champions League group stage campaign played during the A-League off-season.

And in the wake of the ACL, we revealed Socceroo assistant coach Graham Arnold had been sounded out about McKinna's job.

Despite two Grand Final finishes, a Premiership and a pre-season cup title, the popular 48-year-old Scot went into a season with question marks hanging over his coaching methods.  However, despite the recent slump, the side has been one of the surprise packets.

New signings Chris Doig, Matt Crowell and Mike McGlinchey have added steel and flair. And the team has been around the top six for most of the season. In the process, they've racked up good wins over front-runners Melbourne Victory (twice), Gold Coast and a thumping 5-1 victory away in Townsville.

Turnbull is looking at the bigger picture, and added: "McKinna has got another year on his contract and we want to speak to Lawrie to go beyond next year.

"Next year it will be six years and that's a pretty good achievement in football and we want him to continue."