The man tipped to be Australia's next coach, Ange Postecoglou, on Friday called for a "cultural shift" to revive the ailing Socceroos ahead of next year's World Cup.

The Melbourne Victory coach is favourite to succeed dumped German Holger Osieck now that the Football Federation Australia has stated it will be going local with the successor to the German.

Postecoglou confirmed the FFA has approached Victory amid reports they would demand significant compensation.

The fallout from successive 6-0 defeats to Brazil and France leading to Osieck's sacking has ignited debate about the future of the game in Australia before the World Cup in Brazil.

But two-time A-League championship winning coach Postecoglou said responsibility did not lie solely with Osieck, the players or the administration.

"For me the reason we are in this position is that we have lost sight of what our national team represents and what its role in our game is," Postecoglou wrote in a column for Fairfax Media.

"For a long time the language that we hear about the Socceroos has methodically stripped away any form of honour and prestige that a national team should represent.

"First and foremost the team belongs to the country itself and its fans. It does not belong to any coach, player or administrator. Any representation within the team and management should be seen as privilege, not a right."

Postecoglou said for a long time the Socceroos stood for courage and a competitive nature in the face of adversity and had never been afraid of a challenge or being written off as no-hopers.

"But sadly this is no longer the case. There needs to be a cultural shift so we understand once again the essence of our national shirt," he wrote.

"What has happened over the past six or seven years is that self-interest, self-preservation and survival mechanisms have ensured that we no longer see ourselves as true Australian sportsmen.

"I have found it frustrating and infuriating to continually hear that we are not that good. That our expectations are too high. That we can't compete with the big countries."

Postecoglou said Australians don't want to hear that they must accept their team's fate in Brazil next year.

"It is time now that our Socceroos were restored to the foundations they were built on," he said.