Central Coast Mariners fullback Dean Heffernen is happy with his decision to move to the Melbourne Heart franchise. The Australia squad member agreed terms with the Heart club last month.

"Moving to Melbourne was a football decision,'' he told The Age. ''I felt as though I needed a change and a freshen-up and after speaking to John Didulica [Heart football operations manager] and the boss down there everything seemed like for me a good decision at this time of my career. It wasn't so much a hard sell. It is a step in the dark, but it was the same when I went to the Mariners five years ago. There has been a bit of talk about a change of position [to centre back] as well and it's all a new challenge.''

Heffernen had a difficult time in Germany with Nurnberg, though insists the time in Europe accelerated his development.

''I miss the things we did on a daily basis down there. Training twice a day … we had 14 players who came straight from the World Cup into Nuremberg from all different countries … Czechs, Tunisians, the Aussie contingent.

''I was on the bench for the first two games and ended up dropping out. The left back there had a blinder of a season. Javier Pinola. He was an Argentinian. He was quality. I learned a lot just by watching him.''