A-League freshmen Melbourne Heart will certainly retain head coach John van 't Schip in his current role according to a recent report.

The Age spoke to Heart director Joe Mirabella to clear up comments he made to The World Game about the new club pursuing Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou.

Mirabella said that Postecoglou would be a good fit for the Heart but assured fans that they would honour the second year of the two-year deal currently held by Dutchman van 't Schip.

''They (the SBS) asked me a lot of questions about the Heart, about the game, about Postecoglou and whether he would be good for Victory and how it might affect the Heart," MirabeIla said.

"I said that Ange was a very well-known person in Victorian soccer, that he had had a lot of success as a player and coach in the old NSL days and he might attract a lot of the Greek and Italian and other communities that have not yet embraced the A-League.

''We have got John van 't Schip and he is contracted for another year.''

Heart chairman Peter Sidwell backed up Mirabella's statement by saying that van 't Schip had the board's clear support.

The Heart enjoyed a semi-successful season in their debut campaign, finishing eighth on the A-League table, six points out of the finals.

They lost a trio of key players in the off-season with Josip Skoko and John Aloisi retiring and Gerald Sibon returning to Holland and so far have bought in promising striker Mate Dugandzic from crosstown rivals Melbourne Victory.

van 't Schip is due to travel to Europe in the next few weeks, in particular his homeland, in search of a striker ahead of the 2011/12 season.