Newcastle star Jarrod Mullen says Nathan Tinkler’s exit from the NRL club is disappointing but the Knights have been through tougher times.

Tinkler confirmed his exit from the Knights on Friday after a controversial three-year reign, but the future ownership model and who will run the club remains unknown.

Reportedly the target of abusive texts from Tinkler, Mullen said it was a difficult time for the club and players but the Knights would come out the other side.

“It’s obviously sad for the club, because Nathan has put a lot of money into the club and it’s disappointing,” Mullen told reporters at training on Monday.

“But it’s business as usual for us and we’ve just got to worry about our football and get back to winning games.

“Once all this stuff gets sorted out, I’m sure the club is going to be in a better position for it.

“Hopefully we can sort it out sooner rather than later and everyone can start worrying about football then.

“We’ve got a job to do over in Auckland this week and we need to get our season kick-started quick smart.

“We haven’t talked about it (Tinkler’s exit) at training at all to be honest.

“This is the first day we’ve come in and it was a bit of a day to get a smile on everyone’s face again and just run around and get the footy in everyone’s hands.”

Newcastle have won just two of 10 games this season and enjoyed the bye last weekend.

They face a difficult away assignment against the in-form Warriors in Auckland on Sunday.

“We’ve been through a lot worse than this,” Mullen said.

“When I first came here, we lost 13 in a row and that was back in 2005.

“The club is definitely in a better position now.

“We’ve got great facilities here, a great coach and great players.

“So we just need to get the performances on the field now.”