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The cash-strapped club is understood to have set a December 12 deadline to get its finances back on track before sounding the red alert to the FFA.

If new cash hasn't been found by then though, player and staff wages may go unpaid on December 15. There are fears the licence may even be handed back to the FFA if no new investors do a deal.

The latest cash crisis comes just days after FFA chairman Frank Lowy insisted they would now be reluctant to bail out clubs after spending millions to rescue A-League clubs last season.

But Arnold and this month's Young Player of the Year nominee, Bernie Ibini-Isei, said their focus was solely on events on the pitch - and putting the club money woes out their mind.

"I can't control who pays us or when we get paid," said Arnold after training at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney before heading to the airport for their Adelaide flight.

"There have been a few issues with that but overall the group has been paid and no-one in the playing group is owned any money at the moment.

"The boys are happy and fit and doing well. I had a chat to them yesterday. We're all in good spirits and good form. I'm paid to coach, they're paid to play - and anything that happens outside that is outside of our control.

"We just control what we can control and that's training hard, playing football and enjoying each other's company. That's one of the special things about this group - they're all wonderful guys.

"We're all there to support each other. Players come and go, coaches come and go, owners come and go. We can just do what we can do."

Arnold said he was pinning his hopes on the FFA stepping in to resolve the situation if the club reaches breaking point.

"I have a lot of faith and trust in Frank Lowy and the FFA," he said. "It's got nothing to do with me. Peter Turnbull the chairman is trying to sort things out.

"I had a meeting with him the other day. It's just about playing football for us."

On the field, the Mariners are set to unleash Mustafa Amini in attack as he nears a return from injury.

"Musti is getting better but I still can't wait for the day when he plays for 90 minutes and that's what we're working to, even with young Bernie," said Arnold.

"They're getting stronger and stronger and starting to handle the intensity of it a bit more.

"It's a problem with the kids - they can play the youth team where they can pretty much play when they've got the ball but with us, especially with myself, there's a big demand for defensive duties as well.

"Musti's body has changed from the finals series to now. He's got some good strength, he's put on a couple of metres in pace, he's got much stronger.

With the Mariners in second spot on the ladder and Adelaide down in the depths, Central Coast are the favourites going into tomorrow night's clash.

But Arnold insisted they faced a stiff battle.

"It's going to be tough," he said. "Adelaide are wounded.

"They've got some players out and there's a question about van Dijk and how fit he's been. He hasn't played for three weeks so it will be tough for him to come back in the first game.

"But we don't play any different away from home as we do at home. We go down there for the three points and we know it's going to be a hard game.

"There's no reason not to go down there with a positive attitude."

:: Bernie Ibini-Isei was announced as NAB's Young Player of the Year nominee after training following standout performances which brought him two goals in recent weeks.

“The first I heard about it was this morning from Arnie” Ibini said. “It was a really good shock.

“I think the past two games I could have played a bit better but to score two goals in the first two matches I started was definitely a great experience.

“You can never be comfortable because there are a lot of great players in this team, but I think I have been doing pretty well and hopefully I can continue that.”

Arnold praised Ibini’s stellar start to the campaign, but said he still had aspects of his game to improve.

He added: “This is a great reward for Bernie but he knows he can be even better, and that is an exciting prospect not only for him, but for me, everyone involved with the Mariners, and Australian football."

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