The deal leaves van't Schip in an interesting position. The club's founding coach was lured back to Australia on a full-time basis a few weeks ago to help solve the emergency after the sacking of John Aloisi, although he was hardly a stranger given he already occupied a technical director-style role with Heart as part of its ties with the Cruyff Foundation. Part of that arrangement was to develop a youth academy leveraging off the great Dutchman's name and status as a legend of the game. It is to be assumed, now that City has made clear its intention to set up its own youth development and academy system, that the Cruyff links will be jettisoned and the City template adopted. But that doesn't necessarily mean that van't Schip's ties with the club will be severed. Van't Schip indicated on Friday he is excited by the new challenge: he is certainly going to be in charge for the rest of the season and he has a perfect platform in the remaining 12 games to convince his new paymasters of his suitability should they wish to retain some continuity with the previous iteration of the club. The Dutchman ticks a lot of their boxes: he is schooled in the Ajax/Cruyff system, which courses deeply through the Barcelona set-up that spawned both City's chief executive Ferran Soriano and its director of football, Txiki Begiristain. Both were heavily involved with the Catalan era of success before succumbing to the challenge - and, undoubtedly, rich rewards - of creating a fresh football dynasty for City's Abu Dhabi-based owners in the north-west of England.

Van't Schip likes to play a mobile, pressing game based on possession and, like Begiristain who played for Barca and Spain, has a highly credentialled playing record. The coach was trying to keep down expectations and remain guarded but even a man of his experience could not help but be excited by the possibilities of City's wealth. ''It's massive for the club and Australian football in general. You are getting a lot of expertise in - people that want to grow the club - and that's what it's all about,'' he said. His first meeting with the club's new owners came on Thursday and was positive, he said. ''They were very clear that we are continuing what we are doing, nothing is changing. In the meantime, the new owners will have a lot of talks and look around and will decide what has to be done.'' Van't Schip said his major reason for quitting at the end of season two was to reconnect with the soccer mainstream and become part of something bigger. City's investment clearly offers that sort of opportunity - if it sees him as part of the future.

''We started and there was not really a next step. With City coming in, it's all different. It's normal when you see that you would like to be part of that. If you only look at what they [Begiristain and Soriano] have achieved at Barcelona and City, the story tells enough.'' Van't Schip was particularly strong on the impact that one of the world's wealthiest clubs will have on the A-League. ''Every team will get stronger. If you play against better teams, you normally get better yourself. If we now get resources and strength from the new owners to grow as a club we will benefit and everyone will benefit,'' he said. ''It will take the level higher, and other clubs will maybe now find investors. The attention is now focused on Australian soccer and that's a very positive thing.'' One of the first things the City-owned Heart should look to do is establish a home base for the club, whose nomadic existence has not helped it develop an identity or settled structure.

''To have a base is very important, it's like having a home and knowing where you are going to build further,'' van't Schip said. ''Having an academy is important, all those things they are going to work on.'' For many players this season will be their last as Heart looks to rebuild and make rapid improvement. Van't Schip said the club should be open to loan players - but not just for the sake of it. ''This season we have to improve with the players we have.

''If there is something that we can also think about for the future and everyone agrees, then it's something that could be very effective, but not for the short term. It is something the new owners have to decide, what kind of players they want to bring in.''