The Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert is expecting his team's World Cup players to step up a level when the A-League season starts this week.
Last season the Phoenix became the first New Zealand team to make the finals of either the A-League or the old National Soccer League, and Herbert said at Monday night's A-league launch in Sydney he expects his World Cup players to benefit from their experience in South Africa.
The Phoenix appear to have an even stronger roster than last season after retaining all their key players and adding some more talent.
Herbert expects to re-sign as All Whites coach in the next couple of weeks.
