Aloisi to fight three-match ban

Banished ... John Aloisi will serve a three-game touchline ban. Source: Joe Castro / AAP

There are questions over the fight shown by Melbourne Heart as their A-League season slipped away, but they'll fight to have coach John Aloisi available to start the next one.

The Heart are appealing a three-game suspension handed to the coach on Wednesday.

Aloisi's first season at the helm finished with him banished to the stands for abusing officials at halftime of his club's season-ending 2-1 loss to Central Coast Mariners on Saturday night.

The extra two games added to his mandatory one-match suspension by the match review panel heaped further pain to what has been a dismal last part of the season.

Finalists last season, the Heart were well in contention for a repeat appearance before fading badly to lose their last five games and finish second-bottom.

The Heart's appeal, against the extra two games of the ban, is expected to be heard next week.

If the ban stands, it will include any FFA-sanctioned pre-season matches the club play in the lead-up to next season.

That means even if he loses the appeal, Aloisi could still potentially serve the ban in full before the season starts, if the Heart can organise three pre-season friendlies.

Defender Patrick Gerhardt received only the mandatory one-match ban after he was sent off in the first half against the Mariners.

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