EXCLUSIVE: JIM Magilton's phone has been relatively quiet since 2010. Now everyone wants to talk, especially British-based players who've always fancied Australia as a destination.

"For the two years I was out (of managing) I was Billy no mates, now all of a sudden the phone hasn't stopped," Magilton said.

While Melbourne Victory's new coach has been happy to answer his phone, chances are his preferred targets were on the receiving end of his calls.

Magilton, who takes charge of his first match tomorrow night against Adelaide United at AAMI Park, plans to make new signings when the A-League transfer window opens on January 17.

The former Ipswich Town player and manager wants to lure two players whom he's previously worked alongside.

"I have one or two that I think we can bring in, but I want to give these lads a chance. It would be unfair to make wholesale changes," he said.

"They're all involved with other clubs, and players I've either had playing time with, or have managed.

"If the right one came along and I think the player will be dedicated enough to spend time here and I think he'll raise the quality of this club, I would recommend him.

"But I would have to sit down with this lad and ask some hard questions, you can't come here and think it's going to be a walk in the park."

But Magilton, whose two jobs have been at English Championship (second division) level, said every Victory player will be given a chance to prove themselves after a season of predictability.

After watching Victory beat Newcastle Jets 2-1 on Saturday, he also watched Victory's youth side the next day and was impressed by outcast Jean-Carlos Solorzano.

"I like him, everybody gets an opportunity here, it's a clean slate," he said.

"I've seen every team sheet, watched the vast majority of the games, these lads who have been out they need a lift and they'll be asking all sorts of questions about will he like me or not.

"Marco Rojas, (Isaka) Cernak, Solorzano, Jimmy Jeggo, (Luke) O'Dea, good player. It's getting a feel and giving them my confidence and encouragement and as it goes along you've got to make decisions on people and then you've got to get the right type in to move the club forward if I'm still here."

Magilton's QPR dressingroom had no less than 14 nationalities and included the volatile Moroccan Adel Taarabt and Hungarian Akos Buzsaky, with whom he had an infamous bust-up.

He has been working feverishly on his man-management skills since while completing his coaching badges and said he's not interested in sipping lattes or playing golf with his marquee man Harry Kewell.

Magilton encountered Kewell during his Leeds United days and he believes the Socceroo veteran will play a pivotal role for his side.

He said Kewell reminded him of Liverpool great John Barnes, who evolved into a central midfield 'pivot' after bursting on to the scene as a lightning winger.

"It's too early to say I have a wonderful relationship with Harry, I don't, and I don't particularly want a wonderful relationship with anyone. I want them switched on and ready to play and win football games," Magilton said.

"Harry's range of passing is great. It suits Harry to be in Australia, it suits him to be at Victory, I'm delighted he's been here, he's been very co-operative as all the players have, he's just a really good footballer.

"I see Harry playing wherever he fits in the dynamics of the team.

"I would like adaptability in the team.

"Harry knows his limitations now, he's been in the game long enough and played under enough top class managers to know that he knows what he's good at and not so good at.

"He's always been technically gifted, with your age your understanding of the game increases.''

media_camera New Victory coach Jim Magilton makes a point to assistant Kevin Muscat this week. Picture: Getty Images

New Victory coach Jim Magilton makes a point to assistant Kevin Muscat this week. Picture: Getty Images

Magilton said title talk in "unrealistic" but is confident that he can improve the Victory squad.

So what does he have to do to win a contract extension beyond the 2011-12 season?

"I need to stamp my personality on the club, winning games will help, and if you can progress at a rate that pleases everyone in the building and supporters then I'll have a better chance of staying," he said.

"They're assessing me while I'm assessing them."

Magilton, who was first interviewed by Victory mid-year before Mehmet Durakovic was appointed, narrowly missed out on the Northern Ireland job last week.

Considering he still harbours ambitions of managing in the English Premier League, Magilton has taken a huge punt in moving to Australia.

British coaches Terry Butcher, Richard Money and Steve McMahon have struggled to find jobs back home after failed A-League stints.

His only official role in the past two years was an assistant's job at Irish club Shamrock Rovers and Magilton said he's rejected other jobs but Victory appealed to him.

"I want to be managing at the highest level, wherever that may be. But I still want to be a Premier League manager," he said.

"I'm not silly enough to think that it's easy walking back in after two years out of the game, there's so many top class people out of work.

"I've been given this opportunity and I want to make the most of it. As a player I was desperate to play abroad. I have an unbelievable opportunity to manage abroad.

"I want to manage, I had opportunities to go back into the game but it just didn't whet the appetite and the juices weren't flowing as much as they are here."

Magilton accepted the Ipswich manager's job while he was still a player and although he immediately hung up the boots he admits he got into management prematurely.

But he knew he would one day become a manager as far back as the late '80s when he was a Liverpool apprentice, when he was picking the brains of senior stars Barnes, Ian Rush, Peter Beardsley and Alan Hansen.

"When the opportunity came up at Ipswich I was 37 with really no skills whatsoever to deal with it," he said.

"Three years later you're so much better equipped to deal with it.

"But I'd been collecting information all my life and I knew I was going to be a manager very early on in my career. I was skipper at Liverpool reserves and the environment was such that you're winning trophies and watching top-class people everyday.

"As a 20-year-old I was hanging around the senior players trying to get as much knowledge as I could."

Magilton has been educating himself since his unceremonious exit from London-based QPR by completing his UEFA Pro License badge in Ireland.

He said he regularly watched three games a week live, from Premier League to League One (third division) while he also spent time in Portugal studying Sporting Lisbon's youth structure.

This has helped him shape his philosophy and he said he already has a good idea of how his Victory team will play. But after just his three sessions he is cautious about making sweeping changes.

"You can't change everything overnight. The constant message through the coaching staff is to be positive with the lads and to put demands on them, make sure the players are prepared for training and that the tempo and quality of training is good," Magilton said.

"Make sure they understand your message and understand what's expected of them in a game.

"We've got expressive players, guys when they land on the ball can win you matches, so that's a positive and we'll work on that."

Originally published as The new face of Melbourne Victory