“It was a priority to come up with a model that allowed us to do that in Brisbane and then a different model that allows us to do it at Victory as well – particularly given we see ourselves at Melbourne Victory as being the leader in the Australian game.

“It’s important for us to make sure we are leaders in the academy space as well.”

A member of the FFA’s review of current player pathways, Sherman – who is the son of Australian Technical Director Rob Sherman – has a number of challenges ahead in not just navigating a way forward for Victory’s academy but also playing a part in Australia’s future.

“You have to make a philosophical decision that may not make business sense now,” he said. “I think we in that sort of grey area really, where our game is very, very expensive to play here so we ostracise the traditionally talented players and their backgrounds.

“We have to find that happy medium where we can make the game affordable and we can cover the costs to participate.

“I think continuity is really important in a young players development. You don’t hop around from school to school. So, for us to do so in a football sense would probably suggest that there have been some challenges in making sure we have continuity in our football learning environments.

“And that’s something that we have to overcome as clubs so that there is faith and trust.

“I think the hopping around nowadays is aligned to a coach and a coach moving between clubs, there’s then a transfer of junior players to move with somebody they trust.

“So how do we create environments where coaches stay? And professional environments, full-time job opportunities, that’s the type of thing we should look to try and build if we can.

“And again, as professional clubs, and that’s kind of the model we’re trying to implement here. Because there’s no doubt that continuity is really important for the kids if they’re going to learn to develop as football students.”