Stevens, who won the NZ National League playing for Wellington Olympic last year, is the new captain of the Southern League champions and shared his thoughts about the 2024 season and the new generations of his current club.

How’s the preparation going? Is the team still adapting to the movement of players from last year to this one?

Yeah, it’s quite different. We have a very young team now. I think there are might only be three or four players over the age of 19 or 20, which is crazy. We have some players who are 16 years old playing for us, but they are all very talented. It’s amazing to see that they are from down south because it’s not that common to have so many good players from here at such a young age. It has its moments as well. I mean, you have also the inexperience of a lot of young players. But it’s been fun, and that’s probably the biggest thing for me. It’s been probably the most enjoyable football I’ve played in a long time. Ryan Edward (Head Coach) said we are players who can be free, and when you are free, you tend to play your best football. If some of these younger players develop the way I think they will, and maybe a couple of experienced players come in, it’d be pretty scary to see how good we could be.

What is your goal for this season, and what would you consider a successful year for Christchurch United?

It’s hard to say because we are quite young. I think it’s almost one of those situations where you take a step back to take a step forward. So, I think making the National League Championship and winning the Southern League again would be really good.

Thinking about the Southern League, which teams do you think could compete with you for one of the two spots for the Championship?

Obviously Cashmere, they’ve got a very strong team this year. They’ve got some amazing players, and they’re just a unit that has played together for years. I know they are a big family club. In general, they all respect each other and work well together. In the pre-season, we also played against Coastal Spirit and they are not bad. They are a very physical team, which is hard for us. We also played against Nomads United, and they are quite good, very physical too, and full of young players as well.

Who do you think are the contenders to win the NZ National League?

Miramar Rangers signed a lot of good players this year. Again, you never know if it’s going to work or not. I think Birkenhead United has signed a lot of good players too. But then you can’t really go past Auckland City FC and Wellington Olympic. And actually, I think Eastern Suburbs had an unlucky National League last year. They were the hardest team to break down in the Championship phase. But you have a couple of games were things don’t go right, and that’s what happens. Hopefully we can be somewhere thereabouts with Christchurch United.

For people that could be watching for the first time, who are the players to keep an eye on in Christchurch United?

We have a talented young player in the midfield named Eric Imachi Sugahara. He's still in high school but displays remarkable skill beyond his years. Alongside him, we have other promising talents such as Jackson Blake, Kaleb De Groot-Green, Rico Pradhan, and more. The abundance of young players is truly exciting. While they may not start regularly if we bring in more experienced players, I know they could play wherever they want within the next three or four years. I think that we will have a lot of talented youngsters come out of the club in the next three or four years.

Finally, Christchurch United's captain left a message for the fans: "I recommend that you come to watch the games because there are many talented young players and very good coaches too".

Article added: Tuesday 19 March 2024