He has identified three key challenges for the season: reunifying the top tier with the grassroots, fixing youth development and making some money. "The development of the A-League was a critical step, but we've now evolved to the point where it was important to go back into the state league system and develop opportunities to make sure that those clubs and the players they develop feel connected to the top tier of the game," the Sydney-based Gallop told Fairfax Media during a whistlestop visit to Melbourne, where he announced the winners of this year's NPL finals series would gain automatic qualification to the FFA Cup. That announcement, and the Cup – which sees A-League and grassroots teams competing against each other in a knockout format – are important parts of a strategy to heal a 10-year-old wound. The league's founding in 2004 created bitterness among established clubs in the old National Soccer League. "A lot of great soccer people become a little bit disengaged with the A-League," says Peter Kokotis, general manager of the NSL's oldest and most successful club, South Melbourne.

"It was quite devastating obviously for most of our fans. It'd be no different for any huge club that's used to playing in the top league and then finds itself in another league." Through the FFA Cup, Gallop is hoping to bring the disengaged back into his tent. "I think that disconnection has been there, but certainly in the last couple of months we've seen a really great spirit developing through the FFA Cup. "It's an important connection point between the grassroots of the game and the professional level." Bringing the clubs back into the fold is important because, like it or not, the A-League is almost totally reliant on them to develop talent.

The FFA has so far chosen to have its premier competition focus almost solely on winning fans and sponsors, with few clubs putting time and money into operating serious youth development pathways. That has meant the clubs have had to lean on NPL teams to develop and nurture talent. The lower leagues in effect act as a feeder system for the A-League clubs. If that is to continue, and the quality of A-League players is to improve, Gallop knows the lower-league feeders need to feel like they're a valued part of the main game. "It's an important part of developing players. The more high-quality competitions you have the better players you produce. That'll produce better players for the A-League and ultimately for the Socceroos. "It's recognised by the technical experts that having development pathways from under 12s right through to senior ranks within one club is the right way to go.

"We don't have that across all 10 of our A-League clubs. Those junior pathways at NPL level remain a really important way of bringing players through; and ultimately we want to see those types of development academy systems in our A-League clubs as well." If Gallop has plans afoot to deal with his first two problems, his third is a little less in his control – how to deal with the A-League's unlikely collection of private owners. The owners inject the revenue the A-League needs to run – but in exchange, Gallop finds himself captive to the whims of a group that includes mining magnate Nathan Tinkler and Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Gallop surely will be thankful Clive Palmer is no longer involved, but he still has many balls to juggle and many people to keep happy. And the best way to do that is to make sure they realise a return on their investment. "Our priority at the moment is to continue the commercial consolidation of the competition and making sure that the investment that the owners have already made continues to bear some fruit," Gallop said.

"We will certainly look at expansion down the track but it's not on our current agenda."