Con Sure Jets Going Onwards, Upwards
Newcastle Herald
Saturday April 12, 2008
JETS owner Con Constantine insisted yesterday that his club's brand had not been tarnished by a string of off-season controversies since Newcastle's grand final triumph.
And Constantine guaranteed that he would assemble a stronger squad for next season than his title-winning outfit.The Jets' memorable 1-0 win against Central Coast in the A-League decider on February 28 has been followed by a seemingly endless barrage of adverse publicity.The departures of proven performers Mark Bridge, Andrew Durante, Stuart Musialik and Troy Hearfield dominated headlines for weeks after the grand final. Then last weekend The Herald revealed that Constantine had not yet honoured a commitment he made to players to provide them with an unspecified grand final bonus. On Thursday there was further scrutiny when The Herald reported that former coach Jean Paul de Marigny had successfully sued the Jets for more than $165,000, plus costs, over his 2006 sacking. The combination of dramas are a setback the club could have done without so soon after capturing the imagination of the Novocastrian public with their fairytale title victory.But Constantine remained confident yesterday that his club's hard-earned success had not been eroded by recent developments."It's a challenge, and I'm enjoying it," Constantine said."We are very fortunate, because not every club can say they achieved what we did this year. The last three years, we have been getting better and better."And now we have qualified for the Asian Champions League, which is a real focus for us. If we do well over in Asia, Newcastle will have even more reason to be proud."We've won the A-League, and nobody can take that away from us. All the knockers said we would come last and we proved them wrong."Constantine assured the club's fans that Newcastle would boast a superior squad next season despite the recent exodus."As far as players are concerned, I guarantee guarantee that Newcastle will be in a better position this season to last season and the year before that," he said.The multimillionaire businessman said he intended to appeal against the NSW District Court verdict in favour of de Marigny "on a point of law".He confirmed that he had promised his players a bonus "on the spur of the moment" if they won the grand final, but was still considering what it would entail."Most of the boys are overseas or on holidays, and I'm waiting to sit down with them when they come back," he said."You have to understand, whatever bonus is given to them, that's got to come out of the salary cap."I promised the boys a bonus . . . there'll be something there for them."I haven't made up my mind [what it is] yet, but I honour anything I say in life."
© 2008 Newcastle Herald