Having signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with United after securing a release from Bundesliga side FC Nuremburg, Perchtold said he was impressed with the level his new league has to offer and couldn't wait to hit full gear over the coming matches.

"It was a tough game and exactly what I expected," he said after his debut midweek against Melbourne Heart.

"I saw that Australian players are able to play good football and also that the physical level of the Hyundai A-League is very high.

"Everyone saw that I need some time to adjust to the level and to get to know my new teammates better.

"The first thing I have to improve is my physical level. I was out for a long time through injury before I came so everyone knew that it was normal that I needed another few games to adjust."

Perchtold also gave an insight into the difficulties he faces in overcoming the language barrier.

Though a fluent English speaker, Perchtold explained that the words exchanged in the heat of battle are a world away from what a foreigner learns in a classroom and with time, he says he will have a strong grasp of the on-field dialect.

"I do very well with foreign languages. It's easy for me to learn them but I haven't spoken English since I left school at 18 years old. Only sometimes I spoke it with the Australian players at Nuremburg," Perchtold said.

"I have no problem with English but on the pitch, it's different to learning it in a school or speaking normally. You need to know the words everyone uses and what they mean instantly so you can act on them.

"For me, I couldn't understand what my teammates were saying as quickly as you need to on the pitch and over the next few weeks, I'll learn the main words and phrases used as well as the kind of football I need to play to help the team."

Assisting Perchtold in overcoming the language barrier is stopper and German speaker Dino Djulbic, who has plenty of experience in Perchtold's homeland having spent a few years in the country as a child and having played with second division side Rot Weiss Ahlen a couple of years ago.

"Dino is very important for me and a big help. Even if he didn't speak German he would be because he's a really nice guy," Perchtold said.

"He's always helping me at training or in the game with some German words which is a big help with the transition to English."