BOLT TALKS TO MARINERS

IT’S the phone call that confirms Usain Bolt means business with the Central Coast.

The Cairns Post can reveal Mariners coach Mike Mulvey spoke personally with his likely triallist on Monday night, marking a sizeable step forward in the A-League minnow’s pursuit of the fastest man on Earth.

Geographically, the private conversation, conducted between Gosford and Europe, was worlds apart.

In terms of negotiations, though, the first direct contact between the Jamaican sprint king and the man in control of his football aspirations is a sign the club is edging closer to locking in the mooted sixweek trial.

The other indicator is the way key figures in the process have gone silent after the Mariners and Bolt’s camp signed a confidentiality agreement last Friday night prohibiting all parties involved in negotiations, including Bolt’s longtime agent Ricky Simms and Australian intermediary Tony Rallis, from commenting publicly.

The agreement also covers Mariners players and staff.

“There’s a confidentiality agreement in place which we must abide by but that in itself is probably the biggest indicator of where it’s at,” a club spokesman told the Post.

“They’re very serious, they really want this to work, so they want to be very respectful to the Mariners and the ALeague and give this the best go. That is all that can be said at this time.”

Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp is still yet to be summoned to London to finalise the trial and it’s believed it could take at least another week to wade through the minutiae.

The whole operation still hinges on several factors, not least a pledge of support from Football Federation Australia towards any potential seasonlong, multi-million contract should Bolt impress the club’s new football director Mike Phelan in pre-season.

The buck ultimately stops with Mulvey, and the Mariners have been at pains to point out the 31-year-old will not be unduly favoured just because he holds the men’s 100m and 200m world records.