Vidosic welcomes long off-season

Other coaches have complained about the long period of competitive inactivity but Rado Vidosic is certainly not one of them.

Brisbane is counting the cost of an injury and sickness toll that has frustrated Vidosic, who will be leading the two-time champion for the first time after Ange Postecoglou's departure to Melbourne Victory.

"I am frustrated as any coach would be to have five or six players out," Vidosic said.

"But these things can happen and there is no reason to lose any sleep over it also because the long off-season has actually been a blessing in disguise for us.

"By the time we play our first match in Perth on 5 October, I should have all my players fit and ready to go unless somebody else gets injured.

"Thomas Broich and new boy Do Dong-hyun have rolled an ankle and both are out of action.

"Mitch Nichols is recovering from minor ankle surgery which he had to have in the off-season because of club and national commitments, James Meyer is doing his rehabilitation after minor adductor surgery and should be ready in September while Ben Halloran is sick with the flu.

"If the off-season was shorter all these players might not have been ready for the first round of competition.

"These injuries also give our fringe players an opportunity to get more game time in trials and show us how far they have developed."

Meyer said he too was glad for the long off-season.

"The longer pre-season has given us a great opportunity to get our bodies right and work on Rado's new structures," he said.

"Personally the extra time will allow me to work through a rehabilitation program after groin surgery.

"Hopefully I can be at peak fitness in the opening rounds of the season."

Unavailability of players aside, Vidosic said he was still chasing a centre-back to fill the considerable void left by Bahrain international Mohamed Adnan, who left the club after one season to be with his family in the Gulf.

"We are finalising negotiations with a young foreign defender who we will try to develop," Vidosic said.

"He has played for his country at under-19 level.

"Now that Adnan is no longer with us I would like to have three centre-backs vying for two spots in our standard 4-3-3 formation.

"At the moment we have Matt Smith and Matt Jurman filling those two roles.

"Apart from the foreigner, we are also looking at two of our youth league team players."

The six-month off-season has prompted calls for nine extra rounds in the A-League or the introduction of a knockout FFA Cup as a means of minimising the period of inactivity.

Football Federation Australia, however, has said that "finding longer-term certainty around broadcast rights" was its priority.