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The World Game has learned that the club’s hierarchy is believed to be unhappy not just by the Mariners’ record of three wins from 17 games, but also the lack of adventure shown by the team under Moss's direction.

Moss, who signed a contract extension last August until the end of the 2016-2107 season, guided the Mariners to third place after taking the helm from Graham Arnold last season.

The Mariners have dropped off the pace this season on the back of a series of limp performances. Six points adrift of the finals spots with 10 games left, Moss's team was also knocked out of the running for the 2015 AFC Champions League (ACL) group stage by Guangzhou R&F on Tuesday.

It is understood Moss has a handful of matches to save himself, starting with a daunting clash against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, when he pits wits against his former mentor Arnold, who led his team to a 5-1 win over the Mariners a month ago.

Moss’s position is so precarious that it’s thought a potential successor may already have been sounded out.

The instructions from owner Mike Charlesworth to newly appointed technical director Tony Walmsley, who will oversee the Mariners football department, is to reinstall the attacking intent of a team which has scored just 15 goals this season, the second worst tally in the league.

The former Mariners assistant coach, who has returned to the club after a stint as Sheffield United’s head of recruitment, will be instrumental in attempting to turn the tide and will be at Allianz Stadium for the clash against the Sky Blues.

“We have a charter at the Mariners now that involves an entertaining playing style," Walmsley said. "We want to get fans through the gates and get them off their seats. That’s the top priority.

“I am in charge of the whole football program but it’s not a matter of going in there and waving a big stick right now.

“It’s about gathering some information and exchanging some ideas and getting everybody aligned to how we need to work going forward. It’s a matter of working with the current staff.”

There is also a strong push from above for the club that nurtured and sold on the likes of Mat Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Bernie Ibini, Tom Rogic and Mustafa Amini to blood more youngsters in the final phase of this season.

Walmsley, who had a hand in the development of those feldgling stars, added: “It’s a return for me in a position where I can wrap a lot of strategy in trying to recapture a period when we were developing some excellent talent.

“There was a lot of celebration over four former Mariners being in Australia’s Asian Cup winning squad and that reflects the past at the club and the future is about trying to replicate that.

“On the back of that we need to recruit young hungry players who have a lot of growth potential who will add a lot of value on the pitch and then catch the eye of the global market.

“We need to be a trading club. The Central Coast is a tough market for football and we need a sustainable model where the football department is closely aligned to what the commercial imperatives are.”