Those reserves of mental strength also were on display in that scrappy game in front of 33,000 fans at the Adelaide Oval two Fridays ago. Going one down away from home with five minutes to go normally would finish off most teams. But this season's Victory does not appear to be like most teams. It gathered itself for a late onslaught and got the equaliser with two minutes to go to return with a point and retain its unbeaten record. It was the same story again on Saturday night in a fascinating derby in which City started the strongest and Victory finished all over the top of its rival. Twice City, which had the better of the first half, went ahead. Twice Victory conjured an equaliser, both times inspired by the outstanding Kosta Barbarouses, who had a game to remember as he tormented City's makeshift left-back Iain Ramsay and the rest of the sky blues' defence to set up first Archie Thompson and then Besart Berisha for the first of his hat-trick. And when the game was there to be won in the second half it was Muscat's team who grew stronger as City wilted and then fell apart, scoring three goals without reply.

Victory's defence was poor last season - it conceded 43 goals, one more than bottom-of-the-table Melbourne Heart - but it has looked less shaky this season, although it has conceded four goals in three games. Nick Ansell will return from injury soon and is expected to replace former captain Adrian Leijer at centre-back alongside French import Matthieu Delpierre, who has brought experience and savoir faire to the back four. Daniel Georgievski, a terrier-like full-back who has played in the European Champions League, also has added grit and professionalism on the flanks. Muscat's signings, as well as looking to strengthen the team positionally, all have been experienced players with a demonstrated mental toughness. Delpierre won the Bundesliga and captained his club, VfB Stuttgart. Georgievski survived and prospered despite the privations of playing in the Balkans, while Carl Valeri spent a decade playing in Serie B and for a time in Serie A in Italy. A midfielder cannot survive in that environment as long as Valeri did without being tactically smart, technically proficient and mentally tough. Up front, however, is where Victory looks very different.

Besart Berisha, the striker signed from champions Brisbane Roar, always was going to score goals. It's what he does, whereever he is. But his presence has changed the shape and structure of the Victory team. Victory still breaks with pace - the team's hallmark since the days when Ernie Merrick was coaching it - but with Berisha at the point Victory moves the ball more sharply in the final third than it did under Ange Postecoglou and takes a more direct approach. When Muscat talks about Berisha he often doesn't mention his goals. Rather the coach seems to see him as a talisman, a symbol of the workrate and ethic a top team needs if it is to succeed. "There's a lot more to his game than goals. His attitude is infectious and he works ever so hard for his teammates," Muscat said.

It also was typical of this Victory unit, the coach said, that it won't be thinking about the five goals it scored against City, but the two it conceded. "The players will be burning from the way they conceded two goals from set pieces. There is room for improvement - severe room for improvement in certain areas," Muscat said. "We'll go away and analyse that game and we'll find ways we can get better. From that performance we'll find ways. "I'll sit there till I find some ways that'll ask more out of that group. Because they're hungry as all hell and they want the opportunity to get better. I've got to find where we get better." Victory has been pretty good so far and will look for further improvement on Cup Eve when it takes on Wellington Phoenix at Etihad Stadium.

Before that Victory travels to Perth on Wednesday night for an FFA Cup quarter-final. Muscat is likely to make numerous changes for that game, although he stressed that the inaugural FFA Cup was a competition he was keen to win. In this mood, don't bet against his team. Ladder after round 3