Mike Fridge is a man with a mission.
The new Southern United coach is determined to improve his team's position in the pecking order of the ASB Premiership.
Fridge and assistant coach Tony Martin started their project during the winter, trying to watch as many players in the Football South Premier League as they could, and assessing which of them could step up into a national league environment.
''We wanted to see who was capable, and who really wanted to accept the challenge, and our first boost was that almost all the players we spoke to were very keen to get involved,'' Fridge said.
Fridge has been a successful coach for seven years with Dunedin Technical.
He has won competitions, cups and plaudits in Otago, and is keen to stretch his horizon to the national scene.
While he is normally referred to as the Scots coach from Inverness, not many local football fans realise there were once three Fridges playing in Dunedin many years ago.
Roslyn-Wakari brought out Vic Fridge, with sons Mike and Les playing in junior grades.
Vic was a class act in midfield who lit up the local scene under coach Brian Duncan in the 1970s.
The family later returned to Inverness, and Les went on to play at the top level as a goalkeeper with Chelsea, St Mirren and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, while eventually Mike turned to coaching in the Highland League, and now has returned to face his biggest coaching challenge yet.
''We probably have the best squad that I could expect in Otago,'' Fridge said.
''The enthusiasm at training has been impressive and we are all looking forward to Saturday's game.''
Last year, this fixture produced a mind-numbing scoreline, a record 10-0 loss to Auckland.
The Luiz Uehara-coached Southern side, depleted by injuries, kept the halftime score to 2-0, but Auckland romped home, banging in six goals in the final 10 minutes to humiliate the host team.
However, Fridge was more than pleased with last week's 2-1 win over Canterbury United in a warm-up match in Timaru.
Southern showed real fighting spirit, and clawed back to dominate the second half and earn a morale-boosting result.
''Prior to that game, we only had training matches against our youth side, and a trip to Invercargill that produced an 8-0 win against moderate opposition,'' Fridge said.
Competition for places has been intense, and an off-shoot has been several niggling injuries to players.
This week, late fitness tests will determine the availability of Nick Hindson and Ross Howard, who were limping last week in Timaru.
Andrew Ridden still has a one-match suspension from last season, Alistair Rickerby is overseas, and both defender Cam Attwood and target man Josh Stewart made previous commitments to the national under-19 tournament in Napier this weekend.
Defections leave the central defence a bit thin, and an intriguing question is who will partner centre back Matt Joy.
''We are a mixture of players from different clubs and, while training has been exceptional, we are still striving to gel the different components together,'' Fridge said.
''Our choices have lessened, and we need to aim for balance among players who can win ball, and those who can switch on some attacking flair and grab a goal or two.''
On a positive note, the athletic Tom Jackson is champing at the bit to get going after his lay-off, and young striker Taylor McCormack also did well in Timaru.
Many supporters look forward to seeing the midfield duo of Chilean Eder Franchini and Frenchman Victor Da Costa in action, possibly alongside Morgan Day and Tom Connor.
There is also keen competition for the top goalkeeping spot between Tom Batty and Liam Little, both of whom are skilled and experienced.
The match kicks off at Forsyth Barr Stadium at 1pm.
Southern United
Men's squad
Tom Batty, Liam Little, Matt Joy, Cam Attwood, Ross Howard, Craig Ferguson, David Hayman, Ben Fitzpatrick, Andrew Ridden, Morgan Day, Josh Stewart, Michael Neaverson, Victor Da Costa, Nick Hindson, Eder Franchini, Tom Connor, Tim McLennan, Taylor McCormack, Tom Jackson, Alistair Rickerby.
