Speaking with au.fourfourtwo.com, Rizzo, 28, admits last season – his first back home after 10 rollercoaster years in Italian and English football - was a helluva lot tougher than he anticipated.

But with knee and groin injuries behind him, and a solid pre-season under Dave Mitchell starting May 8, the former Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Ternana and MK Dons midfielder says his second Aussie campaign will see the real Rizzo stand up.

“Last season I was a bit disappointed with my fitness levels. And I think I came back thinking that the A-League wasn’t as strong as it really was. Maybe I wasn’t training as hard as I should’ve been,” he admits.

“And obviously our results were disappointing. And personally I would’ve liked to have played a lot more games.

“But in the last few months I’ve really been working on my fitness … I’m really primed to have a strong season.”

A strong season was what was expected of Rizzo as one of former coach Ron Smith’s key off season signings of 2007. But injuries, an interrupted pre-season and an underperforming side turned his return to Oz sour.

“Mitch has told me what he wants from me and I’ve told I’m determined to well for him and the club. I’ve got a lot of things to prove to the Australian public,” adds Rizzo.

Mitchell is currently in Europe scouting players. Striker Eugene Dadi – the former Tranmere and Notts County man – has arrived but there are concerns about the club’s ability to finance a marquee signing. There are other concerns about the club’s financial state, too.

FFA CEO Ben Buckley said last week that the club faced a difficult task to turn around the Perth public and corporate support in the West.

“On face value, some of the metrics are not heading in the right direction, but we know and understand that (co-owner) Tony Sage and (CEO) Scott Gooch are working hard to turn those issues around," Buckley reportedly said.

Long term, however, is a planned $30m redevelopment of Members Equity Stadium. The feasibility study begins this week and many see this as crucial to future viability of the struggling club.

In the short term another tour of China this June gives Mitchell another chance to refine his on-field plans ahead of another big challenge in season four of the A-League.

“We’ve actually got some good players, and really good young players like Rukavytsya and Downey. There are only 12 or 13 players currently in the squad but we’ve got plenty of time,” says Rizzo, who’s in his final year of a two year deal.

“Obviously I’ve been at some big clubs early in my career then I moved to Italy [on the recommendation of Vinnie Grella’s agent] but that didn’t work out. But now I’m back in the A-League and the FFA have done a fantastic job for the game.”

Meanwhile baby number one in the Rizzo household is due on August 15, the tentative start date of season four. Ilana Rizzo asks: “Can FourFourTwo get the FFA to schedule a home game for that day?”