WITH the unofficial start to the new Central Coast Mariners’ A-League season just days away the club’s six off-season signings were unveiled­ this week.

Defender Jacques Faty, midfielder Mickael Tavares, goalkeeper Ivan Necevski and attacking trio Blake Powell, Kwabena Appiah and Connor Pain were put on show together after a hitout against Newcastle Jets at the Mariners’ Centre Of Excellence in Tuggerah.

The practice match finished 1-1 and the new signings now face a tough road trip in the FFA Cup round of 32 in Melbourne against NPL team Green Gully at Keilor Downs on Tuesday night.

Coach Tony Walmsley is aiming for an extended cup run and move up the A-League ladder and knows there will be more pressure on the team this season.

Key signing and Senegalese international Tavares, who has played for European clubs like Hamburg, Slavia Prague, and Middlesbrough, will give the team a strong presence in the midfield. He said there was a positive feeling at the club.

“Everyone is motivated, we know last season wasn’t so good for the Mariners so we all want to do better, and we will.”

media_camera Central Coast Mariners six new signings — clockwise from the green shirt, Ivan Necevski, Jacques Faty, Connor Pain, Mickael Tavares, Blake Powell, Kwabena Appiah. Picture by Mark Scott

Tavares said he was not perturbed by the club’s last-placed finish last season.

“Even before I signed here, when I knew the Mariners were interested, of course I looked at the table,” he said.

“Everyone at the club is positive so that’s why I decided to come here.

“We’re not here for holidays, we’re here to do our best, to perform well and get the team to the playoffs.”

“Last year they were good upfront but conceded a lot of goals,” Tavares said.

“The team was very young and that was the main reason I came here with ‘Jacky’ (Jacques Faty) — to bring the experience and help the team to be more solid.

“We need to be fit to do that and we still have two months to get fit so I’m pretty confident.”

The silky midfielder showed glimpses of his class against the Central Coast select team and Tavares said the team needed to concentrate on their own game for the FFA Cup match.

“We don’t want to be too focused on our opponent,” he said. “It’s about us. Every game is a chance for us to get better.

“We’re not looking to be at our best immediately, as we are not fit, so we need games to get back into good shape but every game we will take seriously — we want to win.”