And with Perth’s odds to win the A-League considerably lower than previous years, many agree the Glory as a club on the up.

They showed good form against Central Coast in their season-opener and led 3-0 at half time.

However, the Mariners second half fight back to draw should remind Perth they still have some work to do.

And with many pundits  tipping Perth to do well, Griffiths said the Glory were happy to carry the burden of expectation.

“I’m happy that we aren’t underdogs anymore and they have to take us seriously,” he said.  “That makes the boys step up to the plate if they want to win anything.

“There is no pressure, I think it’s a good thing, if people wants us to be up there it’s great. On paper we do have a good squad and on paper so do half the teams in the league and anyone can win it.”

Perth had been accused of ignoring local talent in the past but are once again focused on recruiting players from its own region.

Griffiths, a former ECU Joondalup junior, said Glory’s focus to bring back home-grown players was boosting local support.

“So far it’s been brilliant,” Griffiths said. “The fans really appreciated the fact that they’ve got the WA boys back. In the change room obviously it adds a different dynamic.

“As long as you don’t make it all about ourselves. We’ve got to factor there is nine other players in the team. So the foreigners have got to add something to that as well as do the other boys from interstate.

“We don’t want to make it too cliquey.”

Perth have been making steady progress under the stewardship of Kenny Lowe in recent seasons as they continue their growth.

Griffiths said the club's greatest challenge was finding the right balance for all their experience.

“With the players we’ve got, we’ve got to put them in the right order,” he said. “Putting everyone on the pitch together with the same attitude so to speak. We have a lot of good quality, a lot of leaders.

“Sometime that can come up with different opinions. It’s something we’ve worked on quite strongly this pre-season with Kenny. He’s been really strict and really focused on what he wants for us to put out on the pitch.

“I think that we can hopefully carry that momentum right through and go that one step further.”