Tasman United club captain Mark Johnston would like to see Tasman United produce an All White in the next five years.
The experienced leader believes his association with the new National League team will be the highlight of his career and he wants to see the club produce international- quality players.
“For me, from a playing perspective, I’’m expecting this to be one of the highlights of my career
“The team’s foundations will be built on a strong 16 to 20-age-group system and I expect it will be around for the next decade and building each year.
“For the first year, it’s about establishing an exciting brand and getting the fans along, and from there it’s about using those experiences to build something more successful.”
Mark says he would like to see young players use the team as a stepping stone to higher honours and believed developing higher quality footballers was more important than championships.
“It would be great if Tasman United could be beating Auckland City, but I think we need a broader view and that is we need to provide a pathway for players to develop.
“Tasman United can be a goal but it can’t be the final destination, it has to be a stepping stone.”
Mark says, at 31, he wants to get “two or three more seasons” of football with Tasman United.
He says he’d like the team to win 50 per cent of their home games in the first season and look to build on it.
Mark says despite signings being a common occurrence over the past couple of weeks, there were still chances for local players to push their claims for Tasman United selection.
“There’s a full youth team, two more under-19 players to be added to the men’s squad which will be local players from Nelson or Marlborough, and three or four imports, that still leaves five or six local spots.
“The door is not shut and I don’t know if that message is getting through.”
Tasman United’s season will begin in November with a full youth team also set to be part of the action.
Mark says the path has become easier for Tasman players to make their mark on the game.
