KEY POINTS:
MELBOURNE - Central Coast have suffered a blow ahead of playing the struggling New Zealand Knights tomorrow, with skipper Noel Spencer set to miss his first A-League soccer match.
Spencer, ever present for the Mariners in their 1 1/2 seasons in the A-League, has a knee injury and will not play against the Knights in Auckland.
The Mariners have also lost defender Paul O'Grady with torn hamstring and groin muscles.
The club said Spencer had been battling tendonitis behind the knee since pre-season but the problem had worsened this week. He is expected to return in time for the Mariners' home game, with Adelaide United next week.
Although the Mariners are without seven regular players, they are still hot favourites against the Knights, who plumbed new depths in their 4-0 loss to Sydney FC last week.
The performance cost coach Paul Nevin his job, with director of football Barry Simmonds appointed interim coach just a fortnight after arriving at the Knights.
Little is known of Simmonds' management style as he has been mainly involved in scouting in England in recent years. He was giving little away at a media conference in Auckland.
"You are going to see my type of football," Simmonds said.
"I like players to enjoy their work and their job and their responsibilities."
Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna's team are also coming off some less-than-satisfactory recent form, including an embarrassing 3-3 draw with nine-man Melbourne a fortnight ago and a 1-3 loss to Newcastle last week.
McKinna has included defenders Vuko Tomasevic and Andrew Clark as cover for Spencer and O'Grady, along with striker Nik Mrdja in an extended 16-man squad featuring five strikers.
But he is wary of the Knights showing the traditional form spike after a coaching change.
"There's no question that the Knights will be up for this game. They've got a new coach to impress," McKinna said.
"We can't afford to slip up ... It's up to us now to get back amongst the top teams with a win, which will get us on the front foot ahead of our run of home games."
McKinna is pinning the Mariners' hopes on a favourable late-season draw.
"We have a great home run to look forward to in the last rotation of games, but we'll need to be in touch with the top four to begin with and that's what three points on Sunday will achieve," he said.
* Knights v Mariners North Harbour Stadium, 5pm tomorrow
- AAP
