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Glory will be based in Sydney this week to fine-tune preparations and play matches against NSW A-League opposition.

After yesterday’s game against Central Coast Mariners, the WA club will face Sydney FC in what is looming as Brett Emerton’s first official game for the Sky Blues.

This tour comes on the back of a trip to South Africa earlier in the off-season against tough physical opposition. And with trips throughout their home state, it’s been a very busy off-season for Ian Ferguson’s side.

But according to Vukovic, himself one of a number of new Glory signings, a globe-trotting Glory preseason has been just what the doctor ordered for a team that has so many new faces and facing huge expectations in their home state.

“The more time you spend together the more you gel," he told au.fourfourtwo.com yesterday.

"That’s what it’s about leading up to the season. We want to know each other as much as possible and I think we will after these two big trips.”

On paper Glory do look strong with Vukovic, Travis Dodd, Shane Smeltz and Liam Miller raising expectations that the A-League version can match the club’s NSL success

And while coach Ferguson has not wanted to talk up the team’s chances, Vukovic knows what it takes to succeed in the A-League and senses the team may’ve turned a corner after a disappointing few seasons.

He added: “I’m extremely confident we can do well.

"In every game we’ve gotten better and it’s getting to a point now. It’s exciting, it’s pretty much a new team, with more than half of the players new to the club.

"I’d like to think we’ll be playing finals football this year…. Everyone’s ready to prove people wrong."

The powerful 26-year-old keeper said another new signing, Billy Mehmet, has already caught the eye. The big man looks to be a likely foil for superstar striker Smeltz.

“What Billy brings is something different," said Vukovic. "He’s a big boy who can play that physical up-front and play off him [Smeltz]. He’s a good acquisition and can finish as we’ve seen already in the off-season.

“He’s played with Shane before so he told us a little about him. He’s said he’s got a good pedigree having played all his junior football in England and has already scored a few goals for us.”

These days there’s a real F3 feel to the keeping ranks at Glory. Former Mariner Vukovic will be kept on his toes by talented Neil Young, another off-season capture from Newcastle Jets.

And after a rollercoaster two years for Vukovic – who left the Mariners and endured a short-lived stint in Turkey before reviving his career with Phoenix ahead of signing for Perth – says he’s ready to return to where his career was a couple of years ago.

With regular games under his belt, Vukovic knows that regular game time is his way back into reckoning for the Socceroos three positions over the next few years.

“It has been a long journey for me over the last two years," he said. "I’m looking forward to this season and trying to get back to where I was in Australian football and back amongst the Socceroos.

“There was a point there where I was very close to playing and I still think I’ve got my best football in front me.”

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