Heart CEO Scott Munn told au.fourfourtwo.com that the club's strategy of bringing in a European coach is starting to attract fans he calls "purists".

"I think we've taken some very clear steps around particularly the positioning of the footballers and John van't Schip who's put together a super coaching department," Munn said.

"Certainly the vibe I get from going to local VPL games is that they see him very much as a technical coach with a fantastic credentials.

"The purists really love the coaching department and the players are along that [same] vein. So we have to stay true to that."

While the definition of a football purist is open to debate, what is clear, says Munn, is that some fans yet to embrace the A-League may now be tempted by Heart.

As the strategy of bringing in new fans rather than robbing from Melbourne Victory is starting to unfold, a pre-season friendly with Everton could be the ideal way to boost the club's fan-base.

The VPL with former NSL clubs could also be a pipeline for new fans as the club looks to exploit all the angles to fill the expected home ground at AAMI stadium.

"We're very clear that it's not about taking from the Victory. If we do that we haven't done anything for the game as a whole. We have to grow the game as a whole," said Munn.

"It's a club certainly that purists will like and that's important although we want to attract as many fans as we can."

Along similar lines is the football philosophy of van't Schip who says results-first isn't his style.

He says an attractive brand of football will yield results and is upbeat about Heart appearing in the A-League finals series of 2011.

"My expectations are that we are going to play a game that I would like to see played. That'll be the focus," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

"A game with technical... nice touches, good passing, that's what I'll tell the boys, that'll be our goal.

"And as a result of that way of playing, the results in the A-League should come also. Not the other way around saying, 'I want results and see how we play later'.

"Hopefully that vision will bring us to a very high spot in the A-League."

This vision will be music to the ears of the FFA still reeling from the disasters up north at last season's expansion clubs Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury.

The governing body will be desperate for this franchise to capture the imagination from the start and get the turnstiles clicking.

The vision is starting to filter through to the players with key Heart midfielder Wayne Srhoj buying into the Heart philosophy.

He added: "There's a real buzz around the place.

"When you've got the calibre of players that are coming here and coaches, yeah, it's real exciting."