The pre-season form of last year’s A-League golden boot winner should be a cause of concern for defenders everywhere but the former Manchester City man is taking nothing for granted.

Allsopp has ridden football’s unpredictable rollercoaster long enough to realise that fortunes can turn – for better and worse – in an instant.

The memorable 2006-7 campaign was in stark contrast to the inaugural A-League season which saw Victory finish second from bottom with Allsopp struggling for goals. Both club and player bounced back the following year and it was smiles and accolades all round.

Having tasted such contrasts in such a short space of time means Allsopp is a player with his feet firmly on the ground as the new campaign beckons.

The 28-year-old has netted in successive pre-season games for the Victory, most recently the equaliser in a Pre-Season Cup clash with Adelaide United. It followed his strike on the club’s recent tour of China, where Ernie Merrick’s side claimed the Mayor’s Cup.

Allsopp is encouraged but hardly cocky about the coming season and insists that it is a case of “start again” for Merrick’s men.

“Last season was a memorable one, for myself and the club, but it’s over and gone. Now we start again,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com. “After that first season we were determined to work hard, we did and we got success. Having enjoyed last year, the approach doesn’t change. You don’t win anything without hard work and you don’t ‘assume’ anything.

“We are going to be the team to beat and the other sides are going to make it as difficult as possible for you to break them down. We are going to have to work even harder this year. If you stand still in football then you are only going to go one way.”

But having enjoyed success Allsopp is convinced his colleagues will want more of it as the countdown continues to the third A-League season.

“I think we’ve definitely got a taste for it and we will be doing all we can to make it happen again.”

Allsopp’s tally of 11 goals last year made him the first player in the A-League’s short history to reach double figures but you won’t find him making any bold predictions about his target for this season.

“I’m not about to get carried away and start saying I’m aiming for this many goals. I didn’t set any targets last year either. You just work hard to get yourself into the right positions to score goals.”

And Allsopp only has to look back to that turbulent first campaign to give himself a reminder that life isn’t always a bed of roses for a striker. A fair amount of stick was forthcoming in that first year but Allsopp didn’t allow himself to get too down.

“You just focus on doing your job and you keep working hard,” said Allsopp. “That’s the way I approach it. You tell yourself that things can change very quickly in football.”

While domestic success with Melbourne Victory is his priority, it is a clear that “a taste for more” doesn’t just apply to club matters.

Although not a member of Graham Arnold’s final Asian Cup squad, Allsopp was handed his senior Socceroo cap in the warm up game with Uruguay last month.

“It was obviously great to be involved and now you just have to keep performing for your club and hope you get another opportunity.”