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NEWCASTLE Jets coach Phil Stubbins has no plans to quit but admitted on Sunday that some of his players want to be elsewhere.
The club and its supporters are reeling after the Jets were humiliated 7-0 by Adelaide United on Saturday at Coopers Stadium.
It was the Jets’ worst ever performance and matched the biggest loss in A-League history. Adelaide beat North Queensland Fury 8-1 in 2011.
The Jets have now conceded 35 goals in 15 games, one more than last season’s 27-match total, and won just once in 15 matches.
Supporters have responded to Saturday’s result by calling for the coach to resign.
But Stubbins told the Newcastle Herald on Sunday that he was not one to ‘‘shirk’’ a challenge and wanted to play a guiding role in restoring pride in the Jets shirt.
‘‘WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD. IF THAT’S WITH THE KIDS, WE’LL GO WITH THE KIDS.’’
- – PHIL STUBBINS
‘‘I want to be at the Newcastle Jets and I’m desperate to bring some success to the Newcastle Jets,’’ Stubbins said. ‘‘Flicking back through the 20 years I’ve been a coach, there’s never been a time when I’ve felt like walking away or felt I couldn’t contribute.
‘‘We’ve struggled for four or five years now, so there’s a few issues and hurdles we need to get over before we can start to see where we want to get to.
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‘‘My character will certainly be a type that wants to overcome those hurdles and see a future that’s a bright one.’’
That desperation was not evident in many of his players against Adelaide.
Turmoil has wracked the club during the two-week Asian Cup break, and it poured out onto Coopers Stadium for all to see.
Chief executive Robbie Middleby and chairman Ray Baartz quit, Marcos Flores and Sam Gallaway exited through the transfer window, without yet being replaced, and owner Nathan Tinkler made himself chairman and took the club off the market.
Local product Andrew Hoole rejected an offer from the Jets to join Sydney FC next season.
‘‘We need to move forward with players who really want to be here with what we’re trying to do,’’ Stubbins told the Herald.
Asked if there were players in the squad who wanted to be elsewhere, Stubbins said: ‘‘We’ve tried to work through the issues we’ve had and we’ve tried to keep it as much as we can on the training pitch without getting too much distraction.
‘‘It’s obviously common knowledge now and people are alluding to the fact there has been a little distraction for the playing group, and that’s something we need to address.
‘‘It’s not to the point where we can’t go out and put in a shift where you’re absolutely spent after the 90 minutes, and I don’t think we were.
‘‘From my perspective, and I’ll take all responsibility that should be cast on my position in the club, but to play in the fashion we did isn’t good enough.’’
The Jets youth team beat Perth Glory 2-0 on Sunday at Weston Park, and the A-League debut of 19-year-old striker Radovan Pavicevic was the only positive in the Adelaide disaster.
‘‘Things have to change, and there will be some change on the training track this week and certain standards that we need to meet,’’ Stubbins said.
‘‘I’ve really exhausted all I can to cajole things with the training group, and we need to change things. We need to move forward. If that’s with the kids, we’ll go with the kids.’’
Reds striker Bruce Djite opened the scoring on Saturday in the second minute. And from there things quickly went from bad to worse.
Argentine midfielder Marcelo Carrusca rounded keeper Ben Kennedy in the 23rd minute and five minutes later scored from the penalty spot at the second attempt after Michael Marrone was brought down by Adrian Madaschi.
Carrusca initially attempted a ‘‘panenka’’ penalty, a slow, straight dink to fool the keeper. Kennedy anticipated it and made a simple take in front of his face, but several Newcastle players had encroached in the box and Carrusca buried the retake.
Joel Griffiths was subsequently booked for dissent. Stubbins reacted to the 3-0 scoreline by replacing central defender Madaschi with Allan Welsh, but Adelaide went 4-0 up in the 35th minute when sloppy defending on a corner allowed Newcastle-bred Reds centre back Nigel Boogaard to tap in after a knockdown.
Any hope that a half-time spray would spark a more committed performance in the second half was misplaced.
Djite scored his second, again after pedestrian defending, in the 54th minute then Cirio slotted a second penalty after Kennedy stumbled and tripped the Spaniard in the box.
The Jets’ unwanted place in the A-League history books was sealed in extra time when Isaias Sanchez was allowed to measure a magical strike from 30 metres that curled and dipped past Kennedy and inside the far post.
