Melbourne Victory say they are better prepared for their A-League championship defence than two years ago, and can prove it against English Premier League side Fulham at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

The Victory get the chance to become the second Australian side to knock off Fulham in the space of four days, after A-League newcomers Gold Coast stunned the Londoners 2-1 on Wednesday night.

But the Victory’s main aim is to give early notice they won’t repeat the mistakes of their failed premiership defence two years ago.

Melbourne lurched from one disaster to another as they attempted to go back-to-back in 2007-08, before rebounding spectacularly to win the grand final in February this year.

Coach Ernie Merrick and skipper Kevin Muscat believe they have addressed the issues which bedevilled the season after their 2006-07 title win, and they won’t happen again.

“You go from being the hunter to the hunted, and it’s a slightly different mindset,” Merrick said of going into the A-League season as defending champions.

“Every team’s coming out to knock off the previous championship winner and we’ve got to be able to cope with that mentally before we can do anything about it physically on the park.

“It’s a thing we’ve discussed and it’s a thing we’re working on.

“Fortunately we’ve been able to retain a strong squad this time. We weren’t able to retain a lot of the squad last time.

“We’re going to have a fair crack at it this year.”

Muscat believes starting the A-League season well is the key, and has earmarked a big performance against Fulham as a way to immediately dispel talk of a premiership hangover.

“You need to start well. It has been spoken about,” Muscat said.

“The last time we won some silverware, we failed the following season. That is some sort of motivation for us without a doubt.

“A football club that has qualified for the UEFA Cup and finished seventh in the Premiership is going to be a massive test for us.

“We want to go out there and give a good account of ourselves.”

Muscat, who spent a decade playing in England and Scotland, is familiar with many in the Fulham squad.

Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was a long-time Socceroos teammate, ex-Victory centre-back Adrian Leijer shared an A-League grand final win, while he has also played against Fulham skipper Danny Murphy and star striker Andy Johnson.

Muscat’s reputation for physicality is not lost on his opponents.

“I always remember him being a tough cookie,” Murphy told ESPN Television this week.

“You know he could put his foot in with the best of them and put himself about.

“He has obviously had a good career over there in England and is a decent player, but he does have that reputation.”

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