Heart are currently doing the hard yards in the recruitment process by watching A-League games - as many as they can live and on TV - while also checking the stocks in the National Youth League. And no doubt when the various state leagues kick off, they'll be there too.

As for their overseas contingent, Heart are hoping to select a player from different parts of the world ahead of their A-League debut in season six next year.

It's what the new A-League franchise's GM of football operations John Didulica described as an "eclectic" squad as their goal. And this includes casting their gaze over Oceania.  

"We wouldn't want to have a cluster of players from any one place. We'd be open to the team being as eclectic as possible," Didulica told au.fourfourtwo.com today.

"We're not intending to sign five Portuguese players or five Germans. We want diversity. And it's also a way of managing the dressing room, that's important."

When quizzed on Oceania as an example of this approach, he added: "We'd be open to that."

Managing the dressing room is a key point given it will be an entirely new squad. Didulica and newly appointed Dutch coach John Van't Schip clearly don't want a clique forming with players from one particular cultural background. There are other more altruistic reasons, too.

"I think that's important for the Australian public that they get a diversity of playing styles," said Didiluca. "If you look at Holland as an example, they recruit players from all over the world and seamlessly put them into their club systems.

"A club like PSV has players from Africa, Australia, South America and putting together eclectic sides with eclectic cultures together. We're not averse to that at all and we think it should be encouraged across the league."

Cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory have, to a degree, also plumped for this eclectic approach in recent years with Costa Ricans and Thais joining Ernie Merrick's roster.

Didulica predicted around four or five players A-League players will have signed by Christmas ahead of a scouting mission by Van't Schip to Europe in January.

But Heart will not be hurried into signing players for the sake of it, Didulica promised.

"It's not about signing up a group of players by January 1 because it won't do anything for us," he said. "We've been very methodical and calculated. It's a marathon not a sprint.

"We're very conscious and John is of seeing as many games as possible to see how players available will mesh. He is very clear in what he wants, the pattern of play and the style of play.

"Other clubs have been around for five years, so we need to play catch up very quickly. It's not just a matter of looking at which guys are at the peak of their games and then go to Europe to see who we can bring."

Didulica added that the key role of assistant manager should be tied up and announced in the next couple of weeks. One name he did confirm they'd looked at was Ante Milicic.

The current Sydney United coach and assistant to Young Socceroo coach Jan Versleijen at September's World U/20 Cup is considered one of a number of coaches outside the A-League with genuine potential.

Unlike the playing roster, the coaches have had an open application process. It's all part of what Didulica described an "evolving process" when putting together a staff - and club - from scratch.

He added: "We constantly have to readjust what we are doing, but I think the way we've gone about it gives me confidence we're going about it the right way."