“And then my only other option, because I didn’t want to move from Gold Coast, was to play for United. Obviously, there was interest from [2019 NPL Queensland Champions Gold Coast] Knights, but having history with Gold Coast United, captaining them in the A-League, it was a no-brainer.

“I’m definitely building a love for the club again because the reality is, the three years in the A-League I didn’t want to move anywhere else. I could have stayed another ten years at Gold Coast United but unfortunately under Clive [Palmer], with his ongoing battle with the FFA, the licence got taken away and the club folded.”

United was a part of the most recent A-League expansion process that eventually saw Western United and Macarthur FC tapped as the competition’s 11th and 12th entrants.

Linking up with a consortium featuring American investors Jordan Gardner and Brett Johnson, who the club said had committed $25 Million to the expansion process, United had high hopes that they would re-enter Australian football’s top-flight as its second Queensland team but were eliminated from the process in July of 2018.

Nonetheless, Thwaite explained that the work towards building a strong base for success at the club hadn’t stopped.

“Now it’s more about establishing the club and setting a foundation,” he said.

“We’re looking to establish the foundation first and then obviously build the club culture. We’re getting good people, good coaches around the club.

“Shane Smeltz has just returned. Jason Culina, his sons are part of our program and he’s just moved back from Sydney. People that have bled for the shirt before, they’re coming back and getting involved in the club.

“In terms of culture, it’s starting to build the right way, from the ground upwards. Not like it was done back in the day with the World Cup bid and fast-tracked and not much structure.

“It was just kind of plucked, you play at Robina and got the players from there. We’re treating it a bit more sensitively this time.”

In one of the marquee fixtures of NPL football, Saturday night will see United resume hostilities with local rivals Gold Coast Knights in the latest edition of the Coast Cup.  

“Those two games that we played in the derby last year, that’s when you really feel that professional vibe,” Thwaite said of the game.

“You feel that coming through, you feel the atmosphere. We had a few thousand people come to both games.

“To have two rival clubs, on different sides of the city. It’s exactly what we want to see in a derby in Australia and I hope it can continue for a long time.

“As a player, it’s the first time you kind of feel that that’s that professional feeling. That was a good buzz for me, to feel that again. I’m sure that the players coming through and our academy players it’s going to be a great feeling for them as well.

“Both teams want to win.”