The former Liverpool hero has seen the club go from wandering nomads last year to a stunning new stadium at Parramatta and the opening of their five star training facilities at Blacktown.

He's also swooped in the transfer market to bring in fresh new blood to the side from Europe and the Socceroos and seen the mood transformed at training as a result.

New signings Dylan McGowan, Rado Majewski, Pirmin Schwegler and Daniel Lopar have added substance to the team alongside existing stars like Mitchell Duke and Patrick Ziegler.

And the new unity has brought a new attitude to the side.

Now he believes WSW are set to be on the verge of something special.

"I think the biggest difference from last season is the team spirit," he said today. "There is a different atmosphere in the team.

"I have a feeling there is great enjoyment to work there – but also a great enjoyment to have a laugh there. It's a good mix.

"It is important that I see that if we do something on the training ground, the boys do it to 100%...but also with a smile on the face.

"This is the biggest difference to last season."

With a year in the A-League under his belt, Babbel is also finding it easier to plan a pathway through the competition this year, and with much better resources this time round.

He added: "Last season, to be fair, wasn't the best facilities.

"But if you see where the club comes from seven years ago and now we have this complex here and the new stadium then you can see how hard the people are working here. This is amazing.

"The difference between what the club was doing and this year is amazing.

"We now have the training facilities finished and it's unbelievable to work here. Also the new stadium is ready and I'm really looking forward to playing there."

He added: "It makes it much easier for me now because I know how it works here. 

"I think the club has improved a lot in the last year and also the young ones - I see how they started last year to the same time now. They improved a lot and have much more quality now.

"There is still work to do and long way to go but now we have to keep going to get the confidence we need for the important games so we know we can beat every single team."

But less that two days out from their FFA Cup Round of 16 clash with Sydney United on Wednesday night, Wanderers are still plagued by injuries and on the hunt for at least one more new key signing.

"We have too many injuries at the moment so the team is not big," admitted Babbel. "But we don't just want players to come here for the lifestyle just because Sydney is a fantastic city.

"We want players who identify 100% with this club to have success and we are working on this. I am very confident that in the next days or weeks we will get another player.

"We need quality. We also need challenge in the team because last season there wasn't a challenge there and every player knew they were playing...and this is never good.

"We have to have players fighting for their spot."