Mariners' pay delayed amid plans to sell club - Sydney Morning Herald

Closing in: Stefan Nijland of Brisbane Roar is caught between John Hutchinson and Daniel McBreen of the Mariners at the weekend. Photo: Getty Images

Amid their best efforts to compete for honours in the A-League and Asian Champions League, the Central Coast Mariners' players and staff have had their wages delayed for the second time this season.

Those on the Mariners' payroll were due to be paid on Thursday but when the players returned on Friday from their game against Kashiwa Reysol in Tokyo, their fortnightly salary still had not gone through.

However, the players have been told their wages should be processed on Tuesday and that wages will be on time for the rest of the season.

A-League boss Damien De Bohun said he had "no concerns" over the club's long-term future and did not believe it would prove too disruptive to the Mariners' campaign.

"Central Coast are going through some different issues in terms of their ownership, which we are working through. From our perspective, it's just something that's gone out by a couple of days and [should] get resolved very quickly," he said. "We are working closely with the club. I think they are having a fantastic season, obviously they'd like their ACL campaign to be going a bit better but their A-League season has been excellent and finals are just around the corner. From our perspective, there's no change and we will keep working with the club."

Mariners' majority owner Peter Turnbull has recently been in discussions with two different Asian investors about selling the club and Football Federation Australia confirmed the Gosford-based club was closing in on a deal.

"Yes, they are – no question about that. The work they are doing behind the scenes continues to be very positive," De Bohun said. "Central Coast are one of the great stories of the A-League. They have been incredibly successful on and off-field in a market where you need to work hard to get a return."

Meanwhile, Melbourne Victory's Ange Postecoglou has been named as coach of the A-League All Stars for their match against Manchester United at ANZ Stadium on July 20. Postecoglou won 36.8 per cent of the public vote for the position – just 0.6 per cent more than Western Sydney's Tony Popovic.