The Hunter outfit will miss finals football for the seventh season following a catastrophic collapse that saw them end on a six-game losing streak.

But Jones was surprisingly up beat in his assessment of the campaign despite getting the axe a day after their season finished.

Jets sack Jones

Sydney v Jets pic special

“For me, there’s not that much that needs to change, other than adding a bit of quality to the squad,’’ Jones told the Newcastle Herald.

“We dominated some of the best teams in the league, we played an entertaining brand of football, we played out from the back and we got into threatening positions, but too often we couldn’t convert our chances."

Newcastle finished the regular season with a 2-0 loss to Premiers Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Mid season they looked to be top six contenders until they fell away disastrously, scoring a total of just 28 goals and conceded 53.

Jones added: “If you give the squad an injection of quality and finesse, we’d be exactly where we want to be, in the top six.

“And that for me is the disappointing thing. Next season the owner will spend some money and the results will improve, and I would love to have helped build a stronger team and coach it.

“If I’m the person who has to pay the price, so be it. But I don’t agree with that.’’

The 50-year-old was the club’s ninth coach, and the second under Jets owner Martin Lee who took the reins 10 months ago before dismissing Scott Miller.

The club intends to have a new coach in place before pre-season starts in late June.

Senior assistant coach Clayton Zane will oversee training in the coming weeks until the players break for their annual leave in early May.