Two seasons after winning the A-League championship with a star-studded team under coach Graham Arnold, the dramatically different-looking Mariners finished eighth.
Central Coast has always found it hard to survive financially and in the build-up to this season there has been a lot of player turnover at the club.
But not a lot of experience has come in to replace the experience that has gone out and the Mariners will again rely heavily on a formula - successful in the past - of bringing hungry youngsters through.
Asked how he saw the challenge ahead, veteran defender Josh Rose said it was nose to the grindstone time and that the players were up for it.
"Yeah, definitely, it's going to need a lot of hard work, both on and off the pitch, I think, to get the club back to where we want to be," Rose said.
"It has been a massive turnover and Tony (Walmsley, the head coach) and 'Hutch' (assistant coach John Hutchinson) have brought in guys they think fit in to the culture and the budget and can do a job.
"So far the boys they've brought in look good quality at training and they're good guys and they bring a lot to the team."
When money is tight the recruitment decisions have to be spot on because there is little room for error, but Rose said such a scenario could result in previously unknown treasures being discovered.
"I think you can find a lot of young players who aren't normally given a chance somewhere else and that can definitely work in your favour," he said.
"These guys are busting a gut to give you everything and sometimes players just need an opportunity.
"It comes down to getting them into the right culture and the right environment and hopefully getting the best out of them."
Central Coast will play an FFA Cup round of 32 game against Wellington Phoenix at Central Coast Stadium on Tuesday.
Included in the Mariners squad is former Western Sydney Wanderers youth team midfielder and captain Jake McGing, who joined Central Coast last season and has been promoted to the senior squad for the upcoming campaign.
"Jake looks like quality since he's come in," Rose said. "He pushes himself hard every day at training. He's comfortable on the ball, he's quite fast and he's got a good attitude. He's only 21 and he looks like a great pick-up."
Rose said the Irish striker the club signed in the off-season, Roy O'Donovan, was looking like the man up front the team needed. O'Donovan, who turned 30 on Monday, has some Premier League experience with Sunderland.
"Roy looks really good," Rose said. "The early signs are that he's just an out-and-out finisher. He's very direct with his playing style and he's a top bloke as well. He fits in with the boys on and off the pitch."
Rose and midfielder Nick Montgomery, both 33, and goalkeeper Liam Reddy, just turned 34, will provide much of the experience for Central Coast.
"Hutch retiring at the end of last season definitely leaves some big shoes to fill, but there's a good group of older players we've got here," Rose said.
"Myself, 'Monty' and Liam will help the younger boys by leading by example as well as doing our own jobs."
The Mariners have had a couple of encouraging results against A-League teams in pre-season games leading up to the FFA Cup match, beating Wanderers 3-2 and Newcastle Jets 2-1 before that.
Rose said it was all about building the belief among the players at this stage.
"It still early days, we've only been back in training three weeks or so, but although they're only pre-season games the results help the confidence and help the boys believe a little bit in what we're trying to do," he said.
"Hopefully, we can take the confidence from those two results into the cup game.
"Being a genuine competition game helps. Even though we've only been back a few weeks the adrenaline will get you through, so hopefully we can give as good as we get and put on a great game.
"It's all about building the belief at this stage of the season, I think. We just need to remain positive and keep building on what we've done in the early weeks, then start the season the way we want to and carry on and do the business."
