Newcastle Jets newcomer Craig Goodwin says he is ready to make his mark in the A-League with the Club next season.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets newcomer Craig Goodwin says he plans to make his mark in the A-League by becoming a consistent performer for the Jets next season.
Goodwin trained with his new teammates for the first time at Ray Watt Oval this morning.
The 20-year-old said he believes that Newcastle is the best place for him to continue to develop as a footballer.
“I-m definitely happy to be here. It was a long drive from Adelaide, I got in yesterday and now I-m really looking forward to getting going,” he said.
“(Newcastle) is a good club to be at really. Going forward you look at everything like the set-up, the players they-ve brought in.
“The set-up that they-ve got here is one of the best in the league so I think just going forward as an opportunity for me to progress and get to where I want to be, Newcastle is the right Club to do it.”
Goodwin impressed many observers with an electrifying man-of-the-match performance on debut for Melbourne Heart against Melbourne Victory last season.
He went on to make three more appearances for the Heart in 2011/12 and he said his move to Newcastle was about establishing himself in the A-League.
“It was a difficult decision weighing it up (to leave the Heart), but at the end of the day I looked at everything that both Clubs have to offer and I feel that Newcastle was the better one for me going forward,” Goodwin explained.
“I played most of my games in the youth team, made my debut in the derby and was lucky enough to have a good game and play more from there.
“I-ve definitely got a taste for it now and I want to be a starting player here and hopefully have a good season and make my mark in the A-League.”
Originally from Adelaide, Goodwin has previously worked under former Jets National Youth League coach Arthur Papas at Victorian Premier League side Oakleigh Cannons and then for the Heart NYL team.
Goodwin said the reports he had received from Papas about the culture of the Club and Jets head coach Gary van Egmond played a key role in his move to Newcastle.
“I haven-t had any experience with Gary, but I-ve talked to Arthur Papas, of course he-s left now, but I-ve been told that Gary is a lot similar,” Goodwin explained.
“I-ve seen the stuff he-s done, he-s won a title with Newcastle as well so I-m definitely looking forward to learning a lot under him.
“It-s the same sort of set up with the young players at Heart as well, but with the players that they-ve signed here at the Jets we-re going to have a good team this year and we-ll be contenders for the title.”
