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Newcastle Jets chief executive Lawrie McKinna hopes to have a new owner in place within a month, before the A-League becomes independent of the FFA.
Newcastle Jets chief executive Lawrie McKinna insists there's light at the end of the tunnel for the embattled A-League club, who hope to have new ownership in place within four weeks.
Current chairman Martin Lee is keen to sell - and hasn't invested in the club for close to a year - but the Jets are yet to complete a sale with the new season just two months away.
The FFA is in the process of transferring full control of the A-League over to its clubs.
McKinna confirmed the independent league will have a "slush fund" available to help out any clubs struggling financially - while the league could take over any who are awaiting a buyer.
But the Jets boss was keen to sort out Newcastle's ownership situation before the handover was completed.
"We want to get a new owner over the line ourselves - we've been working hard on that for a long time," McKinna said on Monday, when the Jets started pre-season.
"That was always the case with the new independent league, there'd be a slush fund eventually.
"Once the independent A-League was up and got revenue coming in, there'd be a slush fund for any clubs who were struggling with cash flow at certain times and the independent A-League clubs could take over clubs, keep them ticking over until a buyer was found.
"That's certainly something down the track but at the moment that's too far down the track for us - we need to resolve it now, which we will.
"Then we'll move forward and this year, we're going to have a competitive team on the park and look forward to winning a few games and showing the fans that yeah, there's a wee bit of doom and gloom just now, but there's a bright future down the track.
"The long-term goal is to have a team in Newcastle."
The Jets lost coach Carl Robinson to Western Sydney and are reluctant to appoint a replacement until their ownership is settled.
McKinna - a former Central Coast Mariners coach - said he would chip in to help the likes of Craig Deans with pre-season coaching duties.
Experienced pair Steven Ugarkovic and Bernie Ibini recently expressed their desire to leave the Jets but McKinna said Newcastle planned to hold them to their contracts.
"They're contracted to the end of the season and we're expecting them to fulfil their contracts - simple as that," McKinna said.
