The Mariners have failed to qualify for the finals since 2013/14, with chairman Mike Charlesworth’s unwillingness to utilise the full salary cap perceived as a major impediment towards success.

However, Central Coast achieved remarkable results under Graham Arnold from 2010 to 2013 without significant financial investment.

Mulvey, who won the A-League with Brisbane Roar in 2013/14, was appointed Central Coast coach this week and said he wanted a return to those days.

“Firstly, we need to change the narrative because it’s a very negative connotation,” Mulvey said.

“We spend money and it’s not an insignificant amount.

“We might not be able to afford the luxury of someone like Bobo, with regards to top tier players, but we’re going to get players we want to represent the club.

“Whether that’s young players, senior players or overseas players it doesn’t matter. We want to have players with the right attitude who want to go out and perform for the community.”

Several Mariners players will be off contract at the end of this season and Mulvey was non-committal about his squad plans at this stage.

“There’s 10 clubs in the A-League, that’s 230 players, 50 are foreigners, 20 are goalkeepers, so you’re looking at 150-160 outfield players and the turnover of players is quite high,” he said.

“Some players have had five or six clubs in the A-League. I’m not concerned about anything else except getting the best players here possible with the right attitude.

“They’ve got to be prepared to live on the coast and buy into the club culture.”

Mulvey also said he wanted to bring success back to Gosford.

“I think they’re starved of success,” he said.

“The record in the last 50 games is something like the 10 wins. That’s patently not good enough to be challenging at the top end of the table.

“I haven’t come here to finish second. It might take some time but we’re going to work overtime to make sure we deliver the fans a great brand of football and a team that is winning.”