Walmsley was removed as Mariners boss after his side were sensationally knocked out of the FFA Cup by Victorian side Green Gully. He had spent 16 months in charge of the A-League club after his appointment in April 2015.

Walmsley told FourFourTwo he has no issue with his exit from Central Coast three months ago.

“I met with the owner Mike Charlesworth in London last week and we discussed it,” he said.

“I have no issue with the decision to let me go. Football is football and as much as I believed in the group assembled the FFA Cup result hurt the club at a critical time. The match officials in that game destroyed our opportunity with absolutely no accountability. I can say that now.

"It's important to accept it, move on and keep some perspective. There was a massive job to do in a number of areas when I took over.

"While we attempted what proved to be a bridge too far on the pitch in year one, we broke even, we gave youth a chance in a huge way and we tried to entertain.”

Walmsley brought in Blake Powell, Mickael Tavares, Connor Pain, Kwabena Appiah, Ivan Necevski and Jacques Faty for the 2016/2017 campaign. Former Socceroo Paul Okon was appointed as his replacement.

Walmsley believes the early signs this season for the Mariners are good.

“The game is about players making good decisions in the moment, under match pressure,” he said.

“It's about leadership on the pitch and belief and I'm confident the Mariners will close the gap this season.  Early signs are good. Tavares and Faty provide a lot of class and presence that was missing last season and there's genuine competition for places.

“If they show as leaders, and if the younger players use the experience from last season and can believe in themselves as much as I did, then the team will do well.

“The home game against Wellington is critical. The Nix have had a poor start and will be without several key NZ Internationals and the Mariners have to win and win well.

"Confidence will grow from that, especially if they can get something from Adelaide (on Sunday).

“I hope they Mariners can become self-sufficient and grow the supporter base. With Paulo there they should be able to attract talented young players to build on the player trading success of the past.

“The new TV deal will help the club in the short-term, but off the field there is a lot to do to grow the crowds and to help the club keep pace with the league. It's an interesting time. The core fans are fantastic but the challenge to duplicate them is not just generational.

"There is more work to be done.”

The 2015/2016 season was a nightmare one for the Mariners with the club’s worst A-League performance in their history. They finished with the wooden spoon, claimed just 13 points from 27 matches and conceded 70 goals.

Walmsley believes the upside of that tough time is the experience gained from it.

“If you're not growing from the hard lessons learnt it's time to give up,” the 50-year old said.

“Last season was challenging and well documented, but as a consequence rewarding.  When you are the face of such a tough campaign, and the coverage of the Mariners was frankly appalling at times, it can be a lonely place. The upside is the experience.

“It's not all doom and gloom. When you are as invested in something as I was - and I had been with the Mariners for around seven years - it's important to reflect on some great memories and even last year there were some highlights.

“We finished within a single goal in eight games against the top six teams. The margins weren't always so great, and I enjoyed the nearly moments where we went toe to toe with the heavyweights and came so close.

“We led the way for front third entries in the first half of the season and gained plaudits for our ambition. We scored a lot of goals. We just didn't have the games in us to see things through and more experienced teams stayed in the game in key moments better.”