Sutton out to grab silverware

On loan at Mariners from cash-strapped Scottish Premier League side Hearts, the 28-year-old Englishman was signed to fill the void left by Matt Simon's departure to Korean club Chunnam Dragons.

Sutton, the younger brother of former England striker Chris Sutton, says while Hearts didn't want him signing for any other SPL club, relocating to Gosford was an easy decision.

"Hearts wanted to cut the wage bill and needed people to go," Sutton said.

"We got the call from the Central Coast and spoke to Graham Arnold and it didn't take long for him to persuade us to come down to the Mariners.

"There's obviously a lot to look forward to with the playoffs and the Asian Champions League so I was very enthusiastic."

Having never lifted a trophy in a career that has spanned 10 years and just as many clubs before joining the Mariners, the former Millwall and Motherwell striker admits a shot at a title was a decisive factor in his move.

"They're top of the league and they've done really well so hopefully I can be part of something special and go on and do well in the playoffs and the Champions League," Sutton said.

"If I've played well then hopefully you get a bit of nice attention but my focus is on trying to win something here.

"You don't get the chance to win medals wherever you're at. We've got a right good crack at it here so hopefully we can do something good."

The 188cm striker has scored 105 goals for clubs across England and Scotland since joining English Premier League club Tottenham as a youth trainee in 2002.

While Arnold says he was the perfect fit to replace Simon he admits his role will be slightly different.

"He's a ready-made replacement for a player like Matty Simon," Arnold said.

"I don't think John is as hard working as Matt was, he's more of a striker who plays with his back to goal and he's very strong in the penalty box.

"We get a lot of balls into the box so I felt we could do with something different up front."

With paperwork still pending, Arnold isn't completely ruling out the possibly of Sutton playing in Sunday's home clash against Adelaide but says having him on the pitch for the game against Wellington the week after is more likely.