Newcastle Jets is the only existing A-League club that hasn't made the finals at least once in the past four seasons. It is an awful record that makes the challenge for Stubbins obvious. But how does he propose to do it?

Stubbins told TWG it is about getting the approach right off the field as well as on it, ensuring there is improvement in all of the areas where improvement is always possible and adopting a playing style aimed at keeping the ball on the ground, being creative in attack and stout in defence.

"It's not just what we do on the pitch, but off the pitch," Stubbins says. "The clubs now at the forefront of the A-League have got themselves very good protocols in place and it's all streamlined into effectively helping the results on the pitch.

"Our club has done a terrific job in terms of key aspects in that area and we need to raise the bar on the playing front as well. We need to have the right objectives in place if the players are to attain a finals position each year.

"We've got over 10,000 members who come along every year to watch the team, which is fantastic and shows the region is well behind the Jets."

Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners are the only two clubs to have made the finals in each of the past four years. Western Sydney Wanderers also has a 100 per cent record of qualifying for the finals during that time, although it has only been in existence for two seasons.

Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United each made the finals three times and missed once. Sydney FC, Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix each qualified twice and missed twice.

Melbourne City, in its former existence as Melbourne Heart, made the finals once and missed three times.

Gold Coast United qualified once and missed once in its last two years of existence. North Queensland Fury, another now-defunct club, missed in its last year.

A long injury list has contributed heavily to some disappointing pre-season results for Newcastle, but Stubbins is optimistic the trade-off will be that most - if not all - of those players who have been out will be back fit and well for the start of the season.

The Jets have never been far away from the top six during the period in question, finishing seventh three times and eighth once, which increases the coach's belief the club can make up the gap by lifting in the right areas.

"It's all about the one percenters at the end of the day," Stubbins said.

"If we can do things slightly better right throughout our footy department, everyone working hand in hand and embracing the challenges the club faces - which all clubs face - that would augur well for us to get those extra points over the course of a campaign to make the finals.

"The A-League is a difficult competition, a strong competition, a vibrant competition, and everybody wants to win it, or certainly to be in the finals, and we're no different.

"Where we stand today, we've got a bit of work ahead of us, and that's in recognition of the fact we have to get our players back from injury. There's been five or six players out on a constant basis.

"Getting them back will improve our environment, create more of a competitive edge and help us to prepare between now and the start of the season."

Asked what style of football he wanted the team to play, Stubbins replied: "We want to play a good, vibrant brand of football. We want to get the ball down on the deck and play.

"But at the end of the day it's all about results, so I think we need to be slightly pragmatic at times and be able to adjust our game plan according to who we're playing.

"Marcos Flores is coming into the team and it's been well documented that Marcos is the first number 10 that we've had at the Jets for quite some time. He's a genuine playmaker so we're looking forward to using what he brings to the table in terms of his strengths.

"And we've got a couple of exciting strikers in (Edson) Montano and Jeronimo (Neumann).

"Andrew Hoole is back from his shoulder reconstruction, we've brought Jonny Steele over, Billy Celeski has come to the club. Billy’s got a great pedigree and I think the team will rely heavily on him as well as the season moves forward.

"We'll be a footballing side and hopefully have that edge and that steel that the Jets have always been proud to associate themselves with and which is a mirrored image of the community here.

"They're all pretty honest and hard-working people in this region and that's how we want the team to be when we don't have the ball. When we do have it, we want to have the invention and creativity that makes for entertaining football."