Canberra United coach Heather Garriock has signalled a full-scale rebuild after the club posted its worst return in its 10-year history - finishing one win outside the finals.

Gone are the likes of Michelle Heyman, Caitlin Munoz, Grace Maher, Amy Sayer, and imports Laura Bassett, Toni Pressley and Haley Kopmeyer.

Their departures compounded the shock retirement of Ash Sykes, but they have opened the door for King to make a name for herself.

King has worked with Garriock at Sydney University in the Sydney premier league and believes a few fresh faces around the club will be a massive boost as Canberra hunts for a return to the finals.

The 21-year-old centre-back impressed Garriock enough across her first eight appearances to warrant a contract extension, and she has backed the Canberra mentor to reverse the club's fortunes.

"I’ve played under Heather for a number of years now because I was at Sydney University when she was there. She’s a good coach, she’s different," King said.

"There was a few girls that hadn’t experienced Heather before but you can see she is so different from most other coaches, she’s so passionate about the game. She wants the best for all of us.

"It’s hard to describe her, but she’s so passionate about the game and she wants to win at all costs. She is striving to be the best and constantly wanting to be the best. She’ll do whatever it takes to get there.

"Obviously it’s a bit hard if you’re not training well or whatever. You know she wants the best for you, she’s trying to get the best out of you, and she is going to do whatever it takes to get that out of you.

"She’s not going to tell you you’re doing well if you’re not, but she really is genuinely trying to get the best out of you."

King rose from obscurity to become a handy option at the back for Canberra last season, winning more than half of her duels and providing a good option to help United out of strife in the backline.

The rising star had a meeting with Garriock at the end of last season and agreed to return to the capital following a phone call about a month ago.

"Taren came to Canberra as a trialist and was signed by us and was a consistently strong performer at the back during the campaign," Garriock said.

"She worked hard to establish a spot for herself in the squad and was one of my premier options in the backline by the end of the season.

"It will be great to work with Taren again and we can see her improve her game even more in this new season."

King's re-signing complements the incoming arrivals of Newcastle Jets duo Nikola Orgill and Natasha Prior to a team bracing for as many as 15 changes this season.