Fearless football key for Victory, says Muscat

Kevin Muscat of Melbourne celebrates with players after a win during the 2015 A-League Grand Final match. Photo / Getty Images

Melbourne Victory won't be afraid to reach for the stars as they prepare to kick off their A-League title defence.

The reigning champions are gunning for back-to-back domestic titles and will also look to add the FFA Cup and Asian Champions League honours in what would be a stunning triple crown achievement.

"Why not?" coach Kevin Muscat said of his lofty ambitions. "I can't see any reason why we shouldn't reach for the stars."

And why wouldn't Muscat set the bar high?

He's added quality veterans Danny Vukovic and Oliver Bozanic to his title-winning squad after the loss of former skipper Mark Milligan and goalkeeper Nathan Coe, while retaining out-of-contract stars like Matthieu Delpierre and Fahid Ben Khalfallah.

Muscat hailed the influence of Vukovic and Bozanic in their short time at the club, but said he expects the improvement of some of his younger players to be a key plank of the club's campaign.

The coach promised more of the same attacking flair that propelled Victory to last season's A-League title.

"At our football club, it's what's expected now by our members and fans ... to come along to our home games and really be entertained with attacking football, and that's not going to change," he said.

"Obviously after last season, other teams will have identified areas where they think they can stop us and we'll have to work very hard on manufacturing more of those [attacking] situations. Yes, it's going to be more of the same, but we want to be much better than we were last season."

While Muscat's squad appears well-placed on the eve of the A-League season, the coach warned his players not to rest on their laurels.

"We've spoken about it, we've discussed it, but the reality is that I know, the playing group knows and the football club knows that we're going to get judged on what we do tomorrow, not what we've done yesterday," he said.

"Regardless of what happens from here on in, it's not going to be down to complacency - I can guarantee you that."

Victory kick off the new campaign with a blockbuster clash against Adelaide United tonight at Adelaide Oval. The Wellington Phoenix play Newcastle at home on Sunday.

- AAP