IT might seem extraordinary that the team finishing bottom of the A-League is one of the few to turn even a modest profit.

But Central Coast Mariners CEO Shaun Mielekamp is adamant that the pain the club is going through on the pitch is part of a restructure that can make it sustainable for years to come.

If many people’s reaction to that might be incredulity, the level of detail in Mielekamp’s blueprint is convincing. It takes in incremental increases in crowds and memberships, population forecasts for Gosford, regular marquees and the hugely impressive centre of excellence complex at Tuggerah officially opened last week by Malcolm Turnbull.

It began when Mielekamp, a Coast local, came to the job from Western Sydney, with a painful realisation.

“What’s become obvious to us is that the on-field success and the style of play we’ve had has not been a successful business formula,” he said. “We’ve had the bunkered-down, siege mentality, but it doesn’t translate into big crowds or big corporate support. We need to find a business model that delivers those.

“The club’s been very focused historically on the next six or 12 months, not the seasons to come beyond that. We want to send the message that we’re battling for premium success, not just survival.

“Why we play football is to grow the community, that’s the core reason. The glory and prestige are all very nice, but it’s all ultimately about growing our community. As that grows it allows us to build the business - something we’ve been particularly poor at over the past few years - and that tips back into football and funds the club. We get a bigger membership base, more commercial leverage etc and that feeds back into football.”

As well as the business success of the centre of excellence, Mielekamp is also tying the club’s future to radical plans for Gosford city centre, with “$700 million of DAs that have been approved, including five skyscrapers”.

The Mariners are the only club with a minority of support in the 16-24 age bracket, he says, but those apartments will be filled with young professionals priced out of Sydney.

Also taken as a given is a substantial increase in the central grant from FFA’s TV deal.

“We’ve got every confidence in David Gallop and the team at FFA to do that, to double it, and that’s crucial,” he said. “Every owner in every A-League club brings this up at every meeting. It just has to be delivered, there is no other option.”

Ultimately though, those potential fans and viewers have to be given something worth watching — the jury is out and a long way from a verdict on what this season under Tony Walmsley will translate into.

“The ingredients are there — (assistant coach) John Hutchinson plays a bring role in what he brings in terms of the history of the club, so we don’t lose that,” Mielekamp said.

“The development history of Tony is there, time and again, so I’ve got no reason to doubt our ability to deliver that.

“Yes, we’ve had a throw-caution-to-the-wind approach this season, but it’s more about the long-term development of our players and the type of football we want to play as a brand. An entertaining, risk-taking style, married with success, is a strong business model.

“In three years, we want to see the development of our players bearing in fruit. The new broadcast deal will be in its second year, and the new free to air network will really know how to maximise the league. All the metrics should change with that kind of FTA exposure. That becomes a game-changer for the club.”