Former Socceroos and A-League star counts himself as one of the lucky ones.

GOLD Coast United captain Michael Thwaite counts himself as one of the lucky ones.

GOLD Coast United captain Michael Thwaite counts himself as one of the lucky ones.

Throughout his time at the top, the former Socceroos and A-League star hasn’t encountered anything like the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the sporting landscape.

But after watching the Mackay based Magpie Crusaders withdraw from the NPL due to financial difficulties, Thwaite has developed an even finer appreciation for each minute he gets to spend with a football at his feet.

“We’re just very fortunate to be at a club where we can start paying coaches and players again and building our club to develop the next generation,” the 37-year-old said.

Thunder's Jace Hudson stops this shot at goal by Michael Thwaite, Gold Coast. NPL, South West Thunder vs. Gold Coast United.

“It was difficult for the club and a lot of people got stood down like what happened with several businesses but we kept in contact via our Facebook group and we had to adapt a lot.

“We’re getting back into the swing of training now but on the whole, we are enjoying training more and appreciating the fact that we can actually train again so it’s brought a lot of freshness and energy to the squad.

“We’re lucky as a club that we are in a position to continue even after a crisis like that so the structure of the club is very strong.”

United kicked out to two wins, one loss and one draw before the NPL season was postponed in March.

Thwaite believes the three-month break has enabled the club to examine their balance and structure ahead of a planned season restart in late July.

Former Socceroo Michael Thwaite has held a special training clinic with junior players at the Cairns Saints Soccer Club. Saints juniors Will Littleton, Daniel Zaccor and Ethan Ferguson chase the ball with Michael Thwaite. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

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“Everyone is in the same situation but it’s given us a good chance to re-evaluate what we were doing during the pre-season, especially with weather ruining our pre-season, it was a very broken and interrupted pre-season anyway,” he said.

“We’ve been able to re-establish our fitness levels and practice what we’re doing tactically to grow into the season again because it was a big momentum stopper.

“There might be a few changes within the squad as people’s situations change but we won’t change much tactically.”

Thwaite, who spent much of the lockdown period growing his mentoring business That’s Football, said it wasn’t a challenge to maintain fitness despite having no idea when competition would resume.

“In the A-League, your off-season is pretty long so I’m used to working hard and maintaining fitness,” he said.