Named to the role in 2018/19, Vidošić’s first year in charge in Bundoora coincided with not only the first time City failed to win the W-League Championship but also the first time they failed to reach finals altogether.

Beset by player absences and injuries, the late-season surge that had categorised City’s previous season as the immense sum of their parts fell into place never materialised –  the club instead missing out on finals football on goal difference.

If the term ‘reloading, not rebuilding’ has ever applied to a team, however, it refers to the group that Vidošić has assembled in Bundoora for the coming campaign.

Despite possessing the equal most miserly of all W-League defences in 2018/19 – City shipping just 15 goals during the campaign – the club has added Matildas' defenders Emma Checker and Ellie Carpenter to go alongside an already fearsome defensive contingent featuring Lydia Williams, Lauren Barnes and Steph Catley.

New Zealand international centre back Rebekah Stott, who has been playing in Norway, looms another possible mid-season addition.

In addition to the defensive reinforcement, City have added Matildas’ midfielder Emily van Egmond, Scottish international attacker Claire Emslie and Serbian international playmaker Milica Mijatović to go alongside returning stalwarts Yukari Kinga and Kyah Simon.

On paper, it’s a squad that should be neck-deep in the race for the W-League Championship, let alone a place in finals football, and Vidošić is well aware of the expectations that will come with such a high-powered squad.

“Every year we try to sign the best possible players that we can,” the City boss told The Women’s Game.

“I thought last season we had some really good players, but we had so many injuries which reflected on our results.

“You can sign many, many good players but if they don’t play, you will be affected in your results. Fingers crossed, we won’t have too many injuries and, fingers crossed, we can use all these quality players that we have recruited.

“The last three years, we just managed to get to 19 points or 20 points, so that’s one challenge this year; to get more than 20 points and to maybe to try to get as close to that season one when we had an undefeated season.

“I know it’s a little bit harder now because teams are much stronger. Brisbane have recruited really well, Sydney have recruited really well, Western Sydney have recruited really well.

"I think there’s going to be four or five teams that will challenge again and I hope that, without too many injuries, we can be in that top four and we can challenge this year.

“It’s not a challenge to get [City’s talent] to perform. I think these girls will perform regardless of who they play for.

“The challenge is just to keep them all fresh and keep them all injury-free because with the World Cup, the season in America, in Europe, that is our challenge.

"They’ve been travelling a lot, they are fatigued, so we need to alter the way they are preparing for the first several weeks and then after that, we can start cranking up with our intensity.

“I think that has been a problem in the last three years. We would just sneak into the top four and then we won the Grand Final because then everyone is at their best.

“So, hopefully, we can get into the top four without many problems and then try to win it.”

Despite a long tenure as a coach in the Australian game, 2018/19 represented the first year that Vidošić – who had stints with A-League sides Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix – had taken charge of a women’s side.

The 58-year-old, who also serves at the technical director of City’s academy, said load management was his big takeaway from his first season in the women’s game and was an area that he was looking to improve on in the year ahead.

“It’s all about managing tired bodies,” he explained.

“When these girls come, especially when they’ve got World Cup or if they’ve got Olympic games ahead of them, you need to manage them.

“There was a lot of surgeries being done ahead of the World Cup, players needed to prepare and we did our best to help them and manage that.

“Hopefully, this time around, we won’t have too many injuries. We’re doing everything we can to make sure Kyah plays more than a game and half for us because that is going to be important.

“Management is the key for us. If we can manage them correctly and get them healthy and on the pitch, they will do their magic because they’re all world-class players.”

Melbourne City's W-League season will kick off this Sunday when the side travels to take on Newcastle Jets at the No.2 Sportsground at 6 pm.