Revealing that he held talks with three other Australian clubs before striking a deal with Mariners, McCabe told the Sheffield Star: "If the co-operative agreement (with Mariners) works then it will see us bring their better players to the UK.

"But in other instances, where there may be problems with passports and the like, we can place them with another of our clubs in Europe.

"We could also send some of our star academy players to the Mariners. Because they are the top team in Australia that might give our player better value than sending them to a lower-league team in this country or elsewhere.

"We will see action in the near future but obviously, when you speak of benefits, it is difficult to put a time scale on things."