Pressure has mounted on Corica after Sydney flopped 1-0 against nine-man Wellington on Saturday night, Adam Le Fondre doing his boss few favours by missing two controversial injury-time spot-kicks in the process.

It’s understood Corica was close to being axed prior to last week’s 2-0 win at Newcastle after an indifferent start to the season.

But the reprieve may be short-lived as patience wears wafer thin with Sydney lagging fourth last on the ladder after three losses from their last four games and growing disquiet over whether club legend Corica - who penned a two-year contract extension last May - is the man to turn the ship around.

Conversely, Montgomery’s star is on the rise in Gosford with the Mariners jumping to second on the table under the innovative Yorkshireman, who is once again defying gravity after steering the perennially cash-strapped club to last season’s playoffs in his debut year at the helm.

Blessed with infinitely more resources, Corica has struggled to find the right chemistry this season despite splurging on the likes of Joe Lolley, Robert Mak and Jack Rodwell, whilst Montgomery has shown his adroitness by grooming a squad of young upstarts into an A-League force.

After stepping up to take over from mentor Graham Arnold in 2018, Corica carried on the winning formula with two successive A-League Championships.

But the wheels fell off last season, the Harboursiders slumping to eighth place and missing out on the finals for the first time since 2016, raising eyebrows in some quarters that Corica was still retained. 

That good will appears to have all but evaporated heading towards Saturday’s trip to Perth Glory, where defeat against the bottom club might prove the final straw.