A-League: New coach Arthur Papas in wings as Jets prepare for rebuild

After upsetting Melbourne City 2-1 to avoid the wooden spoon, the Jets will undergo a major rebuild.

Of the 32 players at the club last season, 16 have departed, headed by retired captain Nigel Boogaard and golden-boot winner Roy O'Donovan.

The future at the club of player-of-the-year Nikolai Topor-Stanley and striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos will be determined by the new coach.

Assistant coach Karl Dodd appears unlikely to stay. It is unclear if support staff Chris Bowling and Bryce Johnson will continue.

The Jets are certain to take up an option on mid-season arrival Jordan O'Doherty, which would give them 16 contracted players, including scholarship holders Archie Goodwin and Blake Archbold.

James Donachie and Joey Champness are on the books but have been on loan to Brisbane and Goa. Champness has expressed a desire to stay in his home town, while Donachie has received interest from three clubs.

The Newcastle Herald also understands that the Jets have signed at least two players yet to be announced.

Jets football operations manager Joel Griffiths was cautious when asked about the impending arrival of Papas but confirmed that a potential new coach had been consulted regarding the building of the roster.

"He has to be," he said.

The Jets' recruitment will focus on both ends of the pitch.

They scored just 24 goals, five coming in the final three games, to have the lamest attack in the league. Western United, with 30, were second worst.

O'Donovan, with seven, contributed almost a third of the Jets' haul and Griffiths said it was a "tough one" to move on the 35-year-old, who in January was granted Australian citizenship.

"It was a tough one because he has been so good for the club," Griffiths said. "He is a good person to have at the club both on and off the park. I have a lot of respect for Roy. Things like this happen in football clubs.

"We need to change and he is not in the plans of the potential new coach.

"We are going hard for players. We want to recruit good players, whether they are young or old.

"We need players who will bring something to the team. There are good players in Europe, Asia and South America. We just have to do our due diligence and make sure they are the right fit for the club."

Boogaard's retirement, the exit by Lachlan Jackson to Korean club Suwon and uncertainty over Nikolai Topor-Stanley has left the Jets slim in defence, an area where they have boasted depth in the past.

"The potential coach is keeping his options open," Griffiths said. "He wants to see what else is out there and will make a decision in the not too distant future. We have a lot of work to fix the roster."

The last major overhaul of the Jets' roster was in 2017-18 when Ernie Merrick was appointed coach and took the club to the grand final in his first season.

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