Melbourne Victory striker Archie Thompson feels that the loss of long-serving coach Ernie Merrick may be beneficial to the club. Merrick and the Victory parted ways after six years late last week as the two-time champions continue their preparation for the Asian Champions League group stage.

It could be seen as a questionable move with the squad still in season and although Thompson said it will be weird without the Scot at the helm, he says it may be the tonic the club needs.

"It was obviously disappointing because from my point of view, and for Kevin (Muscat) and a few of the other inaugural players, we've played under Ernie for so long, so it's disappointing that he left the way he did," said Thompson on a Fox Sports web chat on Monday.

"Personally, he wanted to right the wrongs from the game against Gamba (5-1 loss in ACL), so it was unfortunate that didn't pan out that way.

"(But) from a personal point of view I thought it was getting a little stale, and maybe we needed someone fresh with new ideas to shake it up a bit.

"We had huge success with Ernie, but the game is evolving and maybe it was time for change."