This time 12 months ago Greenacre and fellow English import Paul Ifill were unknowns in the A-League and Phoenix were still trying to shake off the stigma of years of under-performance by past New Zealand sides in the competition after finishes of sixth in 2008/09 and bottom slot the three seasons prior to that.

All that has changed now with Ifill finishing third behind Melbourne's Carlos Hernandez in the race for the A-League player of the year title and Phoenix coming within one game of the grand final last time round.

Add in the recent World Cup exploits of the New Zealand side, who were the only team to go unbeaten in South Africa, and it's clear that people know only too well what teams under coach Ricki Herbert's command can achieve.

"I think people are a lot more aware of what we're about now, especially with the World Cup exploits as well," said Greenacre.

"We've got some top players in our team now and we know what we need to do to really set our stall out and to win games."

There is also the Westpac Stadium factor too where Phoenix have not lost in 19 league games at the venue - a record that stretches back to October 2008.

"The Australians don't want to come over here. It's a long way and it's a miserable climate at times. We've got to make Westpac a fortress again," added Greenacre.

If there was one downside to last season it was Wellington's form away from home. They went seven away games before securing their first win against Newcastle Jets in round 15 and overall lost six games, drew five and won three on the road.

Greenacre believes that can be turned around, particularly given the arrival of experienced duo Dylan Macallister and Jade North into the Phoenix squad.

"We've got depth now. We can adapt to different conditions and different playing styles," the striker said. "We've got the man power to be able to do that now. We are more confident than last year.

"It was a while before we got the away result and that was kind of playing on our minds. When we finally got it we weren't afraid anymore and I don't think we're afraid this year."

As with most sides at the start of a campaign Phoenix, whose first match is against Gold Coast on August 13, have their sights on the grand final.

"We've had a taste of it now," added Greenacre. "We've set ourselves high standards this year. We know what it takes to get to those finals and we can't afford not to make them.

"We've got to be in that top six again and hopefully we can go one step further and hit that grand final."