Central Coast coach Phil Moss has labelled the Mariners' A-League title defence season a "rebuilding year".
His comments came after the third-placed Mariners' 3-1 home loss to Melbourne Victory in a match which featured just four players from last April's A-League championship win.
The Mariners' worst home defeat of the season followed a week in which five players arrived at the club in the wake of the departure of key defender Trent Sainsbury to a Dutch club and striker Daniel McBreen back to China.
"It is a changing of the guard this transfer window," said Moss.
"It is a line in the sand. The squad is looking less and less like the squad from the last three years.
"It is a rebuilding year and we are going to get these results in a rebuilding year, but we will look to bounce back next week when we go to Adelaide next week."
Two new faces lined up for the Mariners against the Victory, and Moss expressed happiness with the early signs from midfielder Isaka Cernak and Socceroos' World Cup hopeful, defender Eddy Bosnar.
"Eddy Bosnar's debut was fantastic and he showed a lot of promise for the games ahead with his experience and free-kicks which were great," said Moss, himself a mid-season appointment following Graham Arnold's exit to Japan.
"I thought Isaka Cernak showed promise as well when he came off the bench."
South Korean Kim Seung-yong is set to make his debut for the Mariners next Friday against Adelaide United, with Moss this week describing the recruitment of the highly-rated forward a "landmark" for the A-League, given the haemorrhaging of talent from the league.
"We have had a lot of changes at the start of this year both on and off the field," said Moss.
"It is a matter of integrating the new players into the way we play.
"If we get that right we will start picking up points.
