Frank Farina's passing-based culture is rubbing off on his Sydney FC squad Frank Farina leads the training drills at Sydney FC headquarters. SYDNEY FC coach Frank Farina insists his squad is getting to grips with the new philosophy he has tried to implement, buoyed by the three-week camp in Italy that gave him more than 50 sessions working with his players. Sydney face St George in the first hit-out since the sky blues returned from their camp in Jesolo, a month from the start of the new season. Having tried to institute a passing-based culture throughout the club, Farina admitted it was a work in progress four weeks from Sydney's opening A-League game against Newcastle. "They're slowly improving all the time - you're not just dealing with 11 players, it's the 24 or 25 you've got and who you want to understand what exactly is required of them in specific positions and specific areas of the park," Farina said. Some young players or youth team players also have to get it, so you're talking a group of 30-40 players. I'm pleased with it, but there's still work to be done. I've got an idea of who we'd like to start as the new season gets closer. But the important thing is that if the unexpected happens and you're missing some of those players, the rest are fully up to speed with what's required. In Italy it was a full-on programme with six games and constant training sessions. There wasn't a lot of free time for the players, but that's part of trips like that. Three weeks is longer than you'd normally do, but we got six games and got game time into their legs. With marquee star Alessandro del Piero due to return to training tomorrow, Farina predicted he would be far more assimilated by the start of the season than his last-minute signing allowed a year ago. "[Alessandro] was ok in Italy in terms of fitness - 10 or 12 days off won't do him any harm, and I think he'll come in at a lot better level than he did last year," Farina said.