KEY POINTS:
Ricki Herbert and his New Zealand Knights fly out to Australia this afternoon in a buoyant mood.
Encouraged by events on and off the field, Herbert is looking forward to matches in Sydney and Gosford in a testing five-day schedule and beyond that a last home game. And now, with some confidence, an on-going involvement with the franchise.
New Zealand Soccer chief executive Graham Seatter is planning a week's holiday starting on Monday week. By that time he hopes to be in a position to go back to his Football Federation Australia counterpart Ben Buckley with a positive spin on the Knights' participation in the Hyundai A-League.
"Around 18 people have contacted me with a view of supporting the Knights," said Seatter. "I have three or four promising leads including a couple who are talking in the region of a million dollars.
"I feel if I can go back to the FFA with assurances of at least $2 million ... I'm sure they will agree to a prospective licence. We could then look for more finite dates and details and go back to them with a three-year plan to ensure the Knights' survival."
Seatter said once he had the okay from Australia he would go to Herbert to discuss his and the code's future.
"Once we have the funding and other matters in place, New Zealand Soccer would step back," said Seatter. "We will not, and do not, want to run a professional football club. But we have to ensure the right people - from the chief executive, board members and management down - are in place.
"Ben Buckley has said the granting of the licence is dependent on on-going New Zealand Soccer involvement. That could come in the form of perhaps a NZS presence on the board."
Herbert, determined to get the best from his players in their remaining three games, has, however, set his sights on a continued role with the club.
While Herbert has not been overly active in talking to players he is well aware that a number of internationals are keen to return to play in any new-look Knights team.
The expansion of future A-League squads to 23 players, including three under-20s, allows some flexibility but it appears the stipulation from A-League operations manager Matt Carroll that there must be a greater presence of New Zealand players in future Knights squads will be met.
All Whites Jeremy Brockie, Vaughan Coveny, Stephen Old, Tim Brown, Leo Bertos, Jeremy Christie and Adrian Webster, playing for league clubs across the Tasman, are obvious targets especially as they are regarded as foreigners and come under scrutiny with the imposition of no more than three non-Australians in A-League squads.
Of more pressing concern for Herbert is tomorrow night's game against Sydney FC at Aussie Stadium.
He will take his full squad of 17 to Sydney and on to Gosford on Monday to prepare for Thursday's clash with the Central Coast Mariners in their last away game of the 2006-07 season.
"I have had a look at Sydney. They are a very good side," said Herbert. "But then you have to look back at the game against Queensland [beaten 3-1 by the Knights] and see what they have done since we beat them last Friday night. They beat Adelaide away to bounce back into the top four.
"Player-wise, Sydney are probably a bit better than Queensland but that doesn't mean we will change anything. I will probably go with the same starting line-up but given we have another game within four days, we will probably make more use of the bench."
The Knights meet a fired-up Sydney side - stripped three points and hit with a hefty fine this week - who hold second place and will want to retain that to ensure a home semifinal.
The big challenge for the Knights is to score and end the A-League record 531 minutes Sydney have played without conceding a goal. They are closing on the record set in the old NSL by Heidelberg of 728 minutes in 1984.
