AAP 2 Minute Read

Sir Alex Ferguson's former right-hand man has been appointed as the new sporting director for A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners.

Mike Phelan, who spent five seasons as Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United, will be tasked with repairing the battling club's youth production line after a lean few seasons in Gosford.

Credited as the finishing school for Socceroos Trent Sainsbury, Mat Ryan and Tom Rogic, the Mariners have been unable to produce talents of that calibre since their academy was established several years ago.

Nor has there been any success at A-League level, with Central Coast collecting the wooden spoon last season.

But owner Mike Charlesworth believes Phelan, who managed Hull City but was sacked in January 2017 after five months in the role, can change all that.

"My biggest disappointment has been the lack of quality players coming through our academies, which was historically a part of the DNA of this club," Charlesworth told Fox Sports.

"It's clearly a general problem in Australia, hence the scrutiny on the national curriculum and its failings right now.

"In Mike Phelan, we have someone who's helped develop some of the best players in the world, and that experience will be invaluable to our future success, and hopefully the Socceroos one day."

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Phelan said he would be "in and out of the country" in his new role, having previously visited the Mariners for a 10-day spell earlier in the year.

"I will be advising on all aspects of the football side of the club -- looking at the youth structure, the academy set up, helping out with the first team environment," he told Fox Sports.

"Then it depends on the owner if he wants to invest in that.

"Mike knows that if he wants to go forward, he has to know what to invest in.

"If he wants to get there, then I don't see why an owner shouldn't listen to the good people around him."