Nick Montgomery has signed a two-year contract extension with Central Coast Mariners, who are committed to “becoming the best development club” in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Mariners great and head coach Montgomery, and his assistant Sergio Raimundo will remain in Gosford until at least 2025 after impressing in their first season at the helm.
Montgomery guided the Mariners to the Australia Cup final and a top-six finish in the Isuzu UTE A-League, while showcasing Central Coast’s best talent.
The likes of Jacob Farrell, Josh Nisbet, Garang Kuol, Lewis Miller and Kye Rowles all flourished, with the latter pair securing transfers to Scotland at the end of the season.
“Speaking to our new chairman Richard Peil and seeing his ambition and vision to establish the club, I am excited to build on the foundations that we started a few years ago in becoming the best development club in the A-League,” Montgomery said.
The Mariners and their youth development have been the talk of the A-Leagues.
Central Coast were the top-ranked A-League Men team, 17th out of all teams from the 40 leagues across the globe for percentage of minutes for club-training players – 47.1% according to the CIES Football Observatory.
To be “club-trained” a player must have been at said club for at least three seasons between their 15th and 21st birthday, per CIES.
Farrell was also on the CIES Football Observatory’s list of top 100 Under-20 footballers with the most playing experience during the first semester of 2022.
The 19-year-old Farrell ranked 52nd on the list after tallying 1,924 minutes for the Mariners during the 2021-22 season.
“For so long, Mariners players were often overlooked for national teams, but now it is so great to see the likes of [Jacob] Farrell, Nizzy [Josh Nisbet], Kye [Rowles] and Alou [Kuol] getting the recognition they deserve, with many more to come,” he added.
“With last season’s FFA Cup Final, and our second consecutive top-six finish, we have set a benchmark and Sergio and I will attempt to do everything we can to recruit, retain and develop our own players and compete strongly in the competition, making the Coast proud of who we are.”
Mariners’ head of football Ken Schembri said: “12 months ago, I had no hesitation in recommending Nick [Montgomery] and Sergio [Raimundo] to our executives for the role of Head and Assistant Coach, and over the last season, they have shown everyone the capabilities that they have as coaches.
“Everyone at Central Coast Mariners is very confident that their extension by another two years will take the club to the level that we aspire to be at.”
