Here he sits down with au.fourfourtwo.com and reveals how the past will only serve to drive him forward and make a success of year two.

442 - I think there is an old expression along the lines of 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. Can you take anything from the disappointments of last year John?  

John Aloisi (JA) - I think it's added motivation to be honest, not only for myself but also for the club. The club had a disappointing year, myself included within that, and we want to make sure we get it right this year. Personally, it's about scoring goals and playing at a good level. For the club it's about winning games, playing attractive football and winning trophies. That's the goal for this year and we're working hard in pre-season to do that. It's not good to go through (last season)  but sometimes it happens and the way you get over it is the most important thing.  

442 - You're obviously trying to find a positive from a negative but surely the level of stick and some of the accusations thrown at you must have hurt like hell didn't they?  

JA - Nobody likes being criticised in whatever walk of life. I know when I'm playing well and when I'm not. Of course some of it hurt. Some of it became personal. Hidden agendas? I don't know. Whatever anyone said about me, no-one hurt as much as me in terms of not performing at the level I know I can. The thing is to believe in yourself. You don't play at the level I have for 15 or 16 years if you're a bad player.  

442 - You seemed to step back from speaking to the media, especially in the second half of the season?

JA - I tried not to read too much about what was being said. To some people I was probably the worst player ever last season. Three years ago though I was the best player because I scored the goal that took Australia to a World Cup and scored and played in a World Cup. You cannot let it get into your head in terms of the highs that you experience or the lows. What I do know and what matters is that I'm confident in my ability.  

442 - You got some stick from the Sydney FC fans inside the stadium. Was it just as tough to deal with the situation on the street?  

JA - It does hurt when people abuse you and it's not at a professional level but to be fair, most people were pretty good. I think that's because they can see you're trying to do your best. Look, you go out there and I'm comfortable walking down the street because I know that each day I'm trying to do my best. Being able to look in the mirror and say that is so important.  

442 - There were suggestions that you were ready to walk away at the end of last season. Did you ever consider quitting Sydney FC?  

JA - It never crossed my mind to walk away. A lot of crap was written about me in terms of 'they are going to get rid of him, they're going to pay him out" and whatever. I'm here to succeed. I have a two-year deal and I was never going to give up. That's not me. I'm here to give 100 per cent every day and the desire to win is as strong as it's ever been.  

442 - Your relationship with former boss John Kosmina generated plenty of speculation and there were reports that some players wanted to force him out? What's your view?  

JA - People would put two and two together because I wasn't playing, performing or whatever. Never once did I not try my best in training or in a game. I'm working as hard now as I did last year. There was a lot of talk about the older players were the ones that got Kossie the sack. I found that pretty disrespectful to the club in general. The club makes decisions. The people in charge don't need players telling them what to do. The club has different owners, wanting to head in a different direction and they sacked Kossie and appointed the new coach. As a player all you can do is respect the decision and go in each day and train and work hard. Whether it was Kossie or Lavicka, I'd do my best no matter what.  

442 - How are you finding things under new coach Vitezslav Lavicka? What impressions have you formed since the players began pre-season training just over a week ago?  

JA - He's very professional, he's coached at a high level with decent clubs in Europe. All his training sessions are intense with a lot of ball work. He wants 100 per cent every second in training. It doesn't matter what you're doing, whether running passing, crossing, shooting, whatever. It has to be done the best it can be. I think that will help the players perform at a higher level. It's been very hard so far and it'll get harder. It's a different level that players have to get used to. In some ways it's very similar to the way Guus Hiddink trained us before the World Cup in 2006, intense, a lot of sessions and tactical sessions. That's what we're doing at the moment.  

442 - Can you try and explain how the new man is going about the business of moulding Sydney FC into the club he wants it to be?  

JA - He has come in and he doesn't know about all that 'bling' stuff that's been said in the past. All that interests him is a team performing on the pitch and a club with discipline. That's discipline on the pitch and discipline off the pitch. For example, we all have to report for training 45 minutes before the session starts. Then we are all on the pitch 15 minutes before the session starts. At the end of that session everyone warms down together. Then it's sitting down together for lunch at 1pm together. Nobody starts eating before every member of the squad is in place. We're always as a unit, always together and that brings the team closer. We're already strong and I think it will get stronger.  

442 - Still a long way to go until the big kick off in August John. Are you happy at this stage with your own preparation?  

JA - I'm feeling good, looking forward to the pre-season games we've got. I think there's quite a lot of them. As I said, the first week of training was hard but enjoyable. We'll keep working towards August. A big part of the reason why I probably wasn't at the best level I could have been at was having to play catch-up last year in terms of fitness.