Covic said he was optimistic the PFA and Football Federation Australia (FFA) would reach an agreement on a "whole of game" CBA, despite negotiations so far being difficult and the two parties having taken shots at each other publicly.
"Negotiations are never easy," Covic said. "From the outside in, people ask why it is so difficult, but you've got to take into consideration the clubs, the players, FFA and many other aspects. There is so much that goes into these negotiations that the public can't see.
"There are only so many funds available and we understand that. We don't want to hold anyone to ransom. As difficult as it has been with CBA negotiations in the past, we've always come to some sort of agreement. We don't want to go to worst case scenario and never have.
"We want to reach an agreement with the FFA that all parties are happy with."
This weeks talks broke down between the players' union and FFA over a collective bargaining agreement. Professional... Posted by SBS The World Game on Saturday, August 15, 2015
Covic, who will play for Perth Glory in the new season, said the players were disappointed with suggestions they were making a "grab" for more cash than was realistically available in the negotiations and potentially hurting the game as a result.
"The players just want their fare share of revenue, like anyone else, because we help build the game," he said.
"We want the public to come out and watch us play, but we know football is not just about what's happening on the field. We want to grow the sport on the field and off the field.
"We don't go to training for two hours and then go down the beach and sit on a banana chair and take in the sun.
"There's a lot of commitment to being a professional player these days and it goes along the lines of doing these appearances and making sure the grass-roots has a connection with professional footballers.
"Away from these appearances and playing football, we have to live a professional life. We do have to sacrifice certain parts of our lifestyle.
"Younger players watch friends go out partying on weekends or go away on holidays and all that. You have to watch what you eat, and your body is scrutinised. Every day you're on the GPS and your weight is checked.
"When we say it's a full-time job, it really is. The training we do, the community work we do and the way we have to set our standards outside of football.
"I think that's the part people have got to understand, that when we have negotiations we're not money-hungry players.
"We want to build the game up as well and just get our fair share the same as everybody else.
"You won't get a player questioning his commitment to trying to drive the game forward."
Covic said the reality for A-League players was that, rather than being able to consider retiring or at least taking it easy on what they made during their playing careers, they had to find another form of employment at the end of it.
And the nature of football meant playing careers weren't always necessarily that long.
"While I'll say that playing football is the greatest job in the world, it is still a job that has a precarious nature," Covic said. "It's a fickle job to have.
"Anything can happen at any time. You don't really have job security as much as in a normal job and you're expected to go 110 per cent at all times.
"We don't just rock up on a weekend to play a game - it's a fulltime job. There's a lot of scrutiny on us and I understand that. In football, if you didn't love the game and loved building it, you would be hard-pressed staying in a job that can be so fickle.
"It can come to an end through a number of ways and football being the way it is today you can't have another job at the same time.
"You can't get the experience doing something else, so you have to throw everything into one sport where, realistically, there are 230 jobs spread across 10 clubs at the highest level.
"We don't want to be portrayed as money-hungry people, because there is not one A-League player that can end his career and say 'you know what, I've done my job, now I can sit on my backside and count my money'.
"We have to go straight into that workforce and it can be a very difficult transition. Most players have to start a whole new career from scratch after their playing career is over.
"It's not a grab for money, it's an opportunity to build the game and make a pathway for younger players to see that football can provide genuine opportunities playing-wise and post-playing, by providing education.
"We want juniors looking at football and thinking 'you know what, there is a career path there now'. As much as I love playing the game, I want to secure myself as well in the best way possible and that's important for the future generations.
"We want football to provide a legitimate career pathway for young players."
The PFA told The World Game that its research on the most recent A-League season showed that, on average, A-League players across the 10 clubs made a total of 351 grassroots coaching appearances between them per month to help promote the game.
That is an average of eight to nine players from each club per week.
Covic said it was this level of commitment that showed the players were intent on doing all they could to help grow the game.
"Players going out and doing appearances and coaching clinics for the kids is all part of the job - especially here in Australia where we're trying to build the game and make it bigger," he said.
"I was once one of those kids looking up to the star players, so I understand how the kids feel. When the kids see A-League players, they are their heroes, the guys they watch every week. It's important for the kids to feel a part of the game and for us as players to be approachable.
"We're quite unique here. It's different to Europe. There is no chance the players there would do this many appearances and promote the game in this way. It's established over there, so it's a different culture in football.
"Here, we're happy to do it, and I know that in my three years at Western Sydney Wanderers we did a lot of it.
"The players at every club are pulling their weight and I think that's important for football and important for the kids to see that the players don't consider it a burden on them - to give their time to grassroots football and the community, to help grow the game."
