THE sting of his first defeat in 14 months remains fresh in his mind and already Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou is scheming.

Brisbane's A-League coach of the year has begun scouting his side's 35 possible opponents for the 2012 Asian Football Confederation Champions League.

There was no concealment of his disappointment in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Sydney FC but, with the Champions League draw to be announced tonight, Postecoglou and his players will inch closer to their ambition of becoming the dominant side in Asia.

"It's exciting to see who we play," he said.

WANT MORE SPORT? GET YOUR COURIER-MAIL PRINT EDITION

The Roar and last year's grand final opponents Central Coast are among 28 clubs from 10 nations with direct entry into the group stage. A further nine outfits will battle in qualifying for the final four spots.

Teams are chosen from national association pots, and clubs from the same country cannot be be drawn in the same group.

That means Brisbane are likely to face at least one opponent from each of the region's heavy hitters - Japan's J-League, Korea's K-League and the Chinese Super League.

The Roar players are firmly focused on the next A-League opponent Melbourne Heart, but Postecoglou has deployed his scouts to begin swotting for the Asian tournament starting in March.

"It will be tough whoever we get," the coach said.

"We've got people in all the different countries we need.

"They're ready to go once we know who we've got."

Players had two items of luggage when they returned to Brisbane from Sydney yesterday - a bag, and the weight of their snapped unbeaten run.

Unaccustomed to losing, there were no smiles or banter.

One of the jokers, striker Besart Berisha, wore dark sunglasses, perhaps to hide the pain in his eyes.

Yet there were no hunched shoulders or downed heads, and they plan to take out their frustration on the Heart at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

"We have to bounce back. Everyone will be looking to see how we react," Postecoglou said.

"No one likes losing and I'd be disappointed if they were cheerful.

"I'm not. Until I get over it, they can't.

Winger Henrique was limping after copping a knock to his leg against the Sky Blues.

But Postecoglou expects both he and Thomas Broich (bruised heel) will be available on Friday.

The coach is conscious of the toll on Broich. He had been carrying his niggle for several weeks and the availability of the side's Olyroos was an opportunity to rest the creative German.

Having missed the Sydney trip, he is better prepared for the Roar's quickfire outings against the Heart, Wellington (December 14) and Central Coast (December 17).

Despite the loss to Sydney FC, Brisbane remains favourite to win the A-League grand final, but have drifted from $2.25 to $2.45 with TABS Sportsbet.

Originally published as Pain of defeat spurs on Roar