Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Glen Moss said there is still a burning desire within the club’s first-team squad to win the Hyundai A-League Grand Final.
The Jets fell just short last term, losing the decider to Melbourne Victory but Moss - starting the new campaign as Newcastle’s No.1 after the departure of Jack Duncan - said there is no chance his side will rest on their laurels.
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Asked if anything would change now that the Jets would become ‘the hunted’, Moss said: “The thing is because we didn’t obviously win it last year, we’ve still got that hunger to go one more.
“It may be different when you have won it and you’ve got other things, AFC Asian Champions League and things like that on your mind.
“But for the guys like myself that haven’t won one yet, that’s still purely the focus.
“Nothing changes - [we are] trying to host and win that grand final again.”
The Jets open their Hyundai A-League 2018/19 campaign against the Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand on Sunday.
Newcastle have kept a relatively settled squad through the off-season, with Duncan, Wayne Brown and Riley McGree the biggest departures.
To help replace them, Matthew Ridenton arrived from Wellington and Brazilian striker Jair Eduardo Britto da Silva was brought in from China.
Winger Mitch Austin also arrived after being released by Melbourne Victory but Moss believes the fact the Jets squad is similar to last season will be a major help.
“There’s not too many changes and the guys we’ve brought in are going to fill any holes that were created from losing guys last year,” he said.
“Matty Ridenton, [the] Brazilian Jair, these guys have come in and kind of lit the place up as well.
“I hope things don’t change. I hope we keep playing how we played last year and the results were proven.
“If we go in with that same mentality and the mindset as a squad then, as I said, we’ll be there [on] Grand Final day.”
Three points on the road would be a perfect start to Newcastle’s season but ex-Phoenix keeper Glen Moss is expecting a strong showing from Wellington under new manager Mark Rudan.
“It’s been an extremely positive pre-season for them,” he added.
“Someone like Mark Rudan has come in, he’s had a respected playing career so you’d think automatically he’s going to have that respect amongst the playing group.
“When a manager like that is pretty much fresh off the pitch himself, I’m sure he’s going to get them working hard.
“Some of the players they’ve signed, the attacking players, Dave Williams, Mitch Nichols in there as well, those guys love to go forward so I think they’re going to be a big improvement on last year.”
