The former Germany international joined Wanderers in May, taking charge of his maiden A-League pre-season which is vastly different to his experiences at the helm of Hertha Berlin, Stuttgart, Hoffenheim and Luzern.

Wanderers take on NT NPL club Hellenic Athletic in the FFA Cup Round of 32 tonight, with Babbel excited for the competitive challenge after almost three months in pre-season.

"I'm really looking forward because it's the first important game," Babbel said.

"It stops the pre-season, the friendly games. It's not the same. We can't do too many mistakes.

"We have to perform. In friendly games you can do mistakes. I'm really looking forward to see how the team is working in a proper game.

"After five or six friendly games you go a little bit bored. They know it's not really important.

"Now if we do mistakes, we're in trouble. If we can concentrate, we're in the next round."