Mulvey made the cross border dash from Queensland a week before the 2012-13 campaign launch and found a dispirited and under-prepared outfit.

But his four month contract could be perfect timing for the Manchester-born tactician, who has built a reputation for identifying and developing elite footballers and is keen to stay on the radar of Australia’s topflight.

Despite being widely regarded as one of the nation’s best development coaches, work has been sporadic since Gold Coast folded.

“There’s not many opportunities in football at the moment, particularly in the A-League which is where I’d like to be,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“It’s been some months now since Gold Coast United and I’ve been doing bits and pieces but nothing concrete.

“I’d rather be working with players, where I can be on the pitch with them every day – that’s how this job came about basically.

“I came here a week ago – it was very quick. They seemed to wake up at the last second and decide, ‘Hey, we need a coach’ and they approached me.”

As Queensland Academy of Sport Women’s Head Coach Mulvey led his team to four national league titles between 1999 and 2007. In the men’s game he is linked with the emergence of players such as Tommy Oar, Robbie Kruse, Ben Halloran and Luke DeVere.

He still holds aspirations to return to the A-League and very nearly did - catching the attention of several clubs when he took over a precocious roster from Miron Bleiberg towards the end of last season.

Right now however, he has more immediate concerns. The women’s program at Victory had been in limbo for about a month by the time Mulvey arrived.

“Training had been inadequate in terms of preparation and the players had been let down in that regard,” he said.

“When I arrived the heads were down and there was a feeling of disenchantment amongst the group.

“The imports were not here so I’ve been on the phone for a week trying to get a few imports to boost the squad because you’re allowed three.”

Mulvey is determined to surround his promising youngsters with quality players. Some of them are already on the fringes of the national team, he said, and need to take that next step.

Since jetting into Melbourne he has managed to assess the qualities of the team and sign three overseas players. Jessica McDonald and Danielle Johnson from the US and Petra Larsson from the Swedish League should be in the line-up within the next fortnight.

Victory’s opening game of the season resulted in a 2-0 away loss to Perth Glory. They have only ever been a mid-table team but given the lack of preparation their target of fourth or higher seems ambitious.

“The girls have given themselves at least the goal of achieving what they did last season,” Mulvey said.

“Now that’s going to be difficult because their preparation was very poor. But there is definitely a good vibe - they approach everything with an enthusiasm, there’s a bounce in their step and with that you can achieve anything.

"If I can add something to these young players in Melbourne over the next four months, help them to achieve their dreams and have success with Melbourne Victory along the way, then that would be great.”

Mulvey sees great potential in the women’s game but says it suffers from a lack of resources and acceptance.

“We had girls coming home from a game in Perth on the weekend who had to pay a taxi to take them (from the airport) whereas there’d be a bus there to pick up the A-League players,” he said.

“The women’s game has come so far but it needs an injection of funds, it needs more awareness, it needs to be set up professionally. That hasn’t happened but it will in time.”

By then Mulvey will have moved on. His agent is fielding coaching offers from overseas but it is the A-League where his heart is set.

“I’m a coach and I want to coach and I think I have a lot to offer but unfortunately when you’re out of work, the sad reality is that usually you’re waiting for someone else to fail before you get an opportunity,” he said.

“That’s a sad fact of life in football – not that I wish ill on any of my peers – but there are people like myself waiting in the wings.”