ANTE Covic admits winning the Asian Champions League has come at a cost, with the Wanderers struggling to mentally re-adjust to the A-League.

But the veteran goalkeeper believes the whole process has also been a learning curve.

Western Sydney head to Adelaide on Saturday in search of just their second win of the season. From the highs of the club’s first two years, which saw them reach consecutive grand finals and win the continental competition, the Wanderers are now anchored to the bottom of the A-League ladder, a third finals appearance looking increasingly improbable.

media_camera Wanderer's goalie Ante Covic celebrates with fans.

If he had to put his finger on why the Wanderers have struggled in the A-League this season Covic could say the heavy travel played a part, or that having a salary-capped squad is an additional challenge. He could also add that the numerous changes to personnel in the squad were disruptive but, when it comes down to it, Covic admits it’s been a mental battle.

“We’ve probably got a million excuses we could use, but the second you start using excuses is when you’re looking for answers in the wrong place,” he said.

“We’ve got to just deal with what’s thrown at us and just move forward.

media_camera Wanderer's goalie Ante Covic makes a save in the dying moments of the ACL final

“When you go on a run and you’re winning, things go for you that maybe shouldn’t go for you because you’ve got confidence. Sometimes when you fall into a rut it’s hard to get out of it. It’s more a mental issue than a physical one when it gets to this stage and we’ve got to change that mental attitude. For two and a bit years we had an attitude where we weren’t going to be beaten no matter what and we worked extremely hard. I think we have to get back to that old philosophy where we have to just switch on, work very hard, make it difficult for teams and make them know when they come up against us they’re going to find it tough because we’re going to work our backsides off.”

media_camera Brendon Santalab of the Wanderers is back fit and found the back of the net last week.

Still, Covic would choose to be in this situation rather than not having had the opportunity to play in, and win, the ACL. He just hopes Australia’s success in Asia has prompted the FFA to think about ways to help ease the load for teams in the future, starting with scheduling.

Because it’s not just the Wanderers who have suffered a ‘hangover’ following their triumph in Asia - the season after Adelaide reached the ACL final they picked up the A-League’s wooden spoon.

“Football in Australia is obviously getting better and better,” he said.

media_camera Wanderers fans during the round 17 A-League match against Newcastle.

“We’re the Asian champions at club level and we’re the Asian champions at international level, so Australian football is on the up. I think everyone has to pull together to keep that momentum and give Australian clubs, just like we do international teams, the best opportunity to play against some of the best in Asia. We played a couple of games over there, I think it was against Guangzhou and Korea, where they had their schedules changed so they could prepare better against us. They’re small things, but they’re very achievable for everybody. Us as a club, we need to learn from what we’ve been through and I think the FFA do too. That’s not a criticism - they would love to see another Australian team in the final.

“It’s a learning curve for us, things haven’t gone well for us, but it’s something we can take forward and make the most of if we get the opportunity again.”