Papas appointed Jets A-League coach
Arthur Papas has been charged with hauling the Newcastle Jets back up the A-League table, with Ange Postecoglou's former assistant signing on as coach for the next two seasons.
Papas, 41, spent two-and-a-half years working under Postecoglou at Yokohama F.Marinos, then took the reins at J3 League club Kagoshima United.
He was India under-23 coach in 2012 and an assistant coach at Saudi club Ettifaq FC in 2017, then worked at Indian Super League club NorthEast United FC in 2018 before joining Postecoglou's staff.
Papas' ties to the Jets stretch back a long way - he was A-League assistant and youth team head coach 10 years ago.
"Arthur comes to the Club after building a significant resume in both the elite Australian football systems and more recently in overseas football structures," Jets executive chairman, Shane Mattiske said.
"He was the understudy to Ange Postecoglou, who has just established himself as the most successful Australian coach in Europe, with his appointment at Celtic and Arthur comes to us from a lead role within Japanese football.
"Arthur will establish a strong football structure and bring a football philosophy focused on positive play, fierce competition and speed in attack."
Papas' appointment and two-year deal should give the Jets some much-needed stability.
Former coach Carl Robinson left for Western Sydney Wanderers before the 2020-21 season.
Interim boss Craig Deans was handed the job on a permanent basis in February but stepped down early this month.
The Jets finished 11th, avoiding the wooden spoon with a win over premiers Melbourne City in their final game of the season.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are in the hands of a consortium of fellow A-League club owners after former owner Martin Lee was stripped of the A-League and W-League licence in January.
