The young goalkeeper’s moment of madness in last season’s grand final has ruled him out of the action for the next few weeks but he’s confident he’ll emerge smiling from his short-term pain.

He’s also hoping there will be plenty of positive good moments to enjoy in the future to help eclipse the bad memories.

He told au.fourfourtwo.com: “This is the last year of my contract but my manager has had some talks about extending it. We’ll have to see what happens and hopefully they’ll come up with something but I’d love to stay.”

While others try and sort out his future Vukovic is keen to banish the past once and for all.

He said: “Sitting out the ban and watching my teammates will be tough but I know that I’ve no-one to blame but myself. So you get on with it and move on.”

Vukovic is confident his teammates will be in safe hands when Mark Bosnich takes his place between the sticks.

He said: “I think Mark and I have pushed each other on in the last few weeks. He’s ready to go out there and do a job for the team.

“He’s been one of the boys from the very start, he’s great to have around and his work ethic is amazing. He’s a very cool customer.”

Vukovic drops out with the Mariners having taken just a single point from their opening two A-League matches.

He said: “We’d like to have made a better start in the league but we’re definitely not panicking about it.”