The midfield maestro’s contract with the expansion club runs out at the end of this season but with his young family settled in Melbourne, he hopes to secure a more permanent arrangement.

A lot will depend on whether Heart offers the 33-year-old import another contract – something he says he would grab with both hands.

Just last month Adelaide United left back Cassio celebrated his Aussie citizenship with family, friends and teammates at the Reds’ home ground, Hindmarsh Stadium.

Now Fred, who has two daughters aged five and one, says he hopes to take a similar step.

“If I stay here longer I will – it’s something I’ve been thinking about,” he said. “If we stay longer it’s better for the family to do the citizenship.

“My wife (Debora) loves it here and my oldest one likes it here too. My little one is just one year – so she doesn’t know just yet.”

Fred enjoyed a stellar season with Melbourne Victory in 2006-07 before signing for DC United in the MLS. After five years, he said, his family was keen to return to Australia.

Injuries plagued his first season with Heart but now, close to full fitness following groin surgery, he’s keen to lead a team he believes can go all the way.

“I think when you have a group with good players and good friendships in the group, everything goes well,” Fred said.

“That’s why Melbourne Heart is very good – everyone’s like a family. When you win we win all together and when you’ve lost everyone’s lost. You never point the finger at any player. That’s why it’s very good.

“Every club you play for is different – different players, different situation but I’m very happy for Melbourne Heart and I hope I can stay here for long.”

Heart’s 2012-13 campaign got off to a blinder last week with a 2-1 win derby win over Victory, and Fred praised rookie coach John Aloisi for his meticulous preparation and ability to build a sense of belief in the player group.

“He’s a very good coach even though they say he’s young but I think he does a very good job,” Fred said. “During (last) week he tried to put everything to us to show us about our opponent.

“He got us very confident to play with his motivation before the game. Always he talk to us and give us confidence and I think this will help us during the season.

“He say to us: Look guys, we had a good week, we had a long pre-season, and you guys are very good players, we can win the game so just believe it. These words can motivate everyone I think.

“We feel we can do better than last year - we have more experienced guys in the team – but you always have to go step by step.

“Now we have Wellington (Phoenix) in front of us. We try to do our best and try to win another game and this will give us more confidence as we play each game. Then we look forward to be in the Grand Final.”

But he warned that visitors Phoenix – who he joined for a brief guest stint in 2008 – will be no pushovers on Sunday afternoon, despite losing half of their starting XI to a World Cup qualifier.

“That makes it worse,” Fred said. “They come from the bench and they want to show they can start every game so this will be very difficult for us.

"They are a very good team but I think if we play like we did against Victory we can do a good job.”