Soccer: Kingz adamant: we want our fee

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Football Kingz chairman Chris Turner is adamant that unless National Soccer League club Wollongong come up with an acceptable transfer fee, Dino Mennillo will not be playing anywhere this weekend.

Mennillo left the Kingz on Wednesday, claiming the club was in breach of contract and owed him money, and headed to Wollongong.

"I have not spoken to Dino and until I do there is not much more to say," said Turner, who spent much of yesterday in discussions with a proposed equity partner, believed to be Sky Television.

"He believes we are in breach. We don't see it that way so it is likely to go to a grievance tribunal, which won't be until some time next week."

Turner said the Kingz had paid Adelaide a transfer fee to have Mennillo released from the last year of his contract with that club.

"We would expect a transfer fee as he is contracted to us until the end of the season," he said. "But having said that, we won't be bending over backwards to get him back. There is no mileage in keeping an unhappy player. We just want what is ours."

Meanwhile, Turner said that while nothing had been signed with a prospective club backer, he was confident the issue would be finalised one way or the other today.

Coaches Wynton and Shane Rufer are determined the off-field happenings will not affect the build-up to tonight's game against lowly- placed Sydney United at North Harbour Stadium.

Marcus Stergiopoulos is back after suspension, and Fred de Jong and Wynton Rufer appear to be over recent injury problems but Robbie Middleby (one game) and Chris Jackson (two) are now serving suspensions.

Adding to those concerns, Jonathan Perry, Che Bunce, Aaron Silva and Lee Jones go into tonight's game with three bookings hanging over them. Another tonight would see them slapped with a one-match ban.

Levent Osman has missed some training this week through sickness but Batram Suri is close to full fitness.

Not surprisingly, team selection will be delayed until an hour or so before the 7.30pm kickoff.

Defending the number of cards the players have collected, Shane Rufer said he wants the players to be aggressive and "be in the face" of their opponents.

"That hasn't been a problem," he said. "It is those silly cards they have got for things like kicking the ball away."

It is revenge time for the Auckland-based club who lost 1-2 to Sydney United in their second NSL outing.

"We lost that by letting them score five seconds into the second spell," Shane Rufer said. "We can't afford to lose concentration like that."