New South Island United head coach Scott Hales will draw on his previous Oceania experience when he takes charge in next year’s OFC Pro League.
The 44-year-old will officially join United next month for pre-season training, taking over from Rob Sherman.
Hales most recently coached Auckland club Western Springs and has also led Team Wellington sides that have played in competitions in the Pacific Islands. He was assistant coach when Team Wellington won the OFC Champions League in 2018.
“Acclimatising to the islands is really, really tough,” he said.
“I have been fortunate to have travelled to the majority of the islands with my time at Team Wellington, when it was a very different format in the Champions League back then, with home-and-away semis and home-and-away quarters.
“It’s hard, but at the same time, the island teams find it really hard when they come to New Zealand as well.”
Hales won the national premiership with Team Wellington in 2021, before the competition was replaced by the current National League club format, and the Northern League with Western Springs in 2025.
He expected the Pro League to be a step up and is excited to take on the challenge.
“I absolutely can’t wait. It’s going to be tough – it’s a tough competition, but I’m just looking forward to getting down and just meeting heaps of people from the South Island here.”
Hales said no players had officially signed yet, but the club was in discussions with most of last season’s squad about returning.
He confirmed Dutch goalkeeper Steven van Dijk and striker Ryan Feutz had left, joining teams in Thailand and Australia respectively.
Feutz was United’s top scorer last season with nine goals.
“He’s a big loss purely because he was a prolific goalscorer last year, so trying to fill those shoes is going to be hard, but at the same time, there’s a number of players out there that can do the job.
“These players are trying to carve out careers, it is tough when the season goes for six, seven months, they need something after that. When they have dipped their toes in the professional game, they want to stay in the professional game.
“I expect a little bit of movement, as always, we’ll hopefully try and retain as many as possible.”
United finished fourth last season before being knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual champions Auckland FC.
They start their campaign in January with three games in Papua New Guinea, against Tahiti United, PNG Hekari United and Bula FC.
In total, United will play 14 round-robin matches before May’s finals to be held in the Solomon Islands.