In a supporter update, the Victory chairman told mvfc.com.au that a Board of Directors had been formed to oversee the appointment with the help of FFA national technical director Han Berger.

Di Pietro said: “It’s with great pleasure that I can confirm the club has been inundated with applicants for the role, with over 70 resumes received from both national and international candidates.

“Our Board is extremely impressed with the calibre of coaches and we will be taking our time to go through the process to ensure that we find the coach that is the best fit for Melbourne Victory and aligns to our criteria.

“We will create a short list, before proceeding to the next phase.

“I want to assure everyone that our Board has a very clear direction as to where we want to take our football club in 2011/12 and beyond.

“We will advise you of our strategic plans throughout the pre-season and importantly keep you abreast of any developments as they occur with regard to our coaching appointment.”

Mehmet Durakovic is currently holding the position as caretaker coach at Victory as the club competes in the 2011 AFC Champions League.

The coaching role became vacant after Victory parted ways with inaugural coach Ernie Merrick last month.

Victory also parted ways with long-serving football operations manager Gary Cole and assistant coach Aaron Healey this week.