Newcastle A-League Men coach Rob Stanton is confident the troubled club will be able to lock in new owners and look to brighter days.
The Jets' ALM season came to an end after rivals Central Coast scored late via Harrison Steele and Ryan Edmondson in their Saturday affair to condemn them to a 3-1 loss at McDonald Jones Stadium, but Stanton is optimistic about the road ahead.
Questions over Newcastle's long-term sustainability have dogged Stanton since he took the reins at the start of the season.
The Jets remain propped up by rival A-League Men clubs, after previous owner Martin Lee was stripped of the licence in January 2021 for failing to inject any money into the club or to pay off debts.
Denied a safety net by the Australian Professional Leagues, Newcastle are at risk of folding.
One avenue of hope was dashed when US-based consortium FC32 pulled out as a potential buyer in early April, but Stanton hinted another deal was close to finalising.
"I don't want to say it's done until you actually see a piece of paper and it's signed, but I'm pretty confident that something is happening," Stanton said after Saturday's match.
"I feel good. I think everyone's feeling good, it would be nice to have it announced soon."
A-League Women coach Ryan Campbell lamented the timing of reports - the day before the second leg of the Jets' ALW semi-final against Melbourne City, which they ultimately lost 6-0 on aggregate after a 3-0 defeat on Sunday.
But he was optimistic he and his players would soon be able to secure their futures.
"Hopefully we can get some good news and then we can really start to lock down some of these players and some of the young players that we have at our club," he said.
"We've been assured that it's not confirmed as yet that everything's happened.
"We're just waiting to find out the same as everybody else ... exactly where things are at."
Campbell also works with the club's academy but wants to remain as coach after taking over from Gary van Egmond mid-season.
"I'd love to take the position on," he said.
Reflecting on his first season at the helm, Stanton praised the club's ability to work through their issues.
"If someone asked you at the start of the season that there'll be seven-nil, eight-nil, I guarantee you, Newcastle would have been mentioned, but it never happened," Stanton said.
"Our biggest defeat was four-nil to Sydney. It was on the back of three road trips, there and back on the same day.
"But the rest didn't happen. I credit the team, the staff, the players who are working extremely hard to make sure we didn't embarrass ourselves, or where people thought we would be embarrassed.
"I don't think that was the case. I think we surprised a lot of people."
