Arnold delighted with Central Coast Mariners’ mix of youth and experience

Central Coast Mariners coach Graham Arnold feels the club’s current mix of young and older players is assisting the team achieve positive results.

The Mariners have a plethora of players under the age of 23 who are key ingredients in the on-field performances so far in the 2010/11 season and the former Socceroos assistant believes the Gosford-based outfit are in a strong position.

“The young boys are doing great around the experienced guys," Arnold said, highlighting the likes of Michael McGlinchey, Oliver Bozanic and Rostyn Griffiths. "I am not afraid to throw young kids in. Give the kids a go. How do we know what the kids can do until we give them a go?

"They are not going to get it right every time but they are growing in confidence with each game."

Following their brilliant 5-0 thrashing of Perth Glory on Saturday, Arnold indicated that things were starting to look up at Bluetongue Stadium after a recent streak of playing ‘boring’ football.

"That's a perception of the fans and media," Arnold added. "We knew there would be some inconsistent performances with the ball because we were changing the style.

"There's a long way to go but we're getting there. I think we sent out a statement a while ago.

"We played very against Melbourne Heart at Bluetongue... Melbourne Victory we played very well, North Queensland (we played well). They (the players) just want to work; they just want to play football.

"The confidence is growing."