Newcastle Jets appoint Carl Robinson as their new coach

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Newcastle Jets have appointed Carl Robinson as the Club’s Hyundai A-League Head Coach.

Robinson will arrive in Australia prior to this weekend’s clash with the Central Coast Mariners, watching proceedings at McDonald Jones Stadium before officially taking the reins on Monday.

The former Welsh international has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal that will see him remain in the Hunter until at least the end of the Hyundai A-League 2022/23 season.

Capped 52 times by Wales, the former central midfielder played more than 400 times in the English Premier League, Championship and Major League Soccer in a career that spanned more than 15 years.

During his final act as a player at the New York Red Bulls, the Welshman also worked as a coach at the New York Red Bulls under Hans Backe. Robinson moved on to the Vancouver Whitecaps to take an assistant coaching role before his promotion to Head Coach at the beginning of the 2014 season.

While with the Canada-based club, Robinson achieved success across a number of competitions, including:

Three appearances in the MLS Playoffs

Two appearances in the MLS Western Conference Semi-Finals

Vancouver’s first-ever home playoff game and first-ever home playoff victory

CONCACAF Champions League Semi-Finalist

Canada Cup Winners

2 Cascadia Cup Championship wins

After putting pen to paper to take over in Newcastle, the new Gaffer said he was excited by the challenge of the Hyundai A-League.

“I am thrilled to be taking charge of the Jets. Everything I have seen about the club so far has been top class, they are desperate for success and hopefully, we can achieve that together,” Robinson said.

After first speaking to Lawrie, I was genuinely excited about Newcastle. I spoke to several other people in and around the League and former team-mates of mine who have played and coached in Australia, and everyone was unbelievably positive about the club and the Hyundai A-League in general.

“The opportunity was too good to turn down. I am really looking forward to finalising my coaching staff, rolling our sleeves up and getting to work.

“I am moving my family from a beautiful city in Vancouver to another amazing part of the world. The City of Newcastle is a city on the up, and myself and my family are looking forward to joining the community and playing a huge part in the continued growth of football in this area.”

Newcastle Jets CEO, McKinna said Robinson was a perfect fit for Newcastle and he was excited to see what the Welshman would bring to the Club.

“Carl’s name was one of the first ones that came up when we were considering who we would want as the new Head Coach, we felt he was the outstanding candidate from the start among hundreds of CVs that we received,” McKinna said.

“He’s an experienced coach with a good understanding of the Hyundai A-League, and he knows how to work within a salary cap due to his MLS experience which is crucial for us.

“We’ve spoken at length about just about everything to do with the Club, he came out to tour our facilities and the city to make sure it was the right fit for him which says a lot to us about the character of the man – that is very important to us.”