Since he took over the leadership at the start of the season, the side has won five of its six games and is five points clear at the top of the national league table. With the team set to head to Wellington for its next round of matches this weekend, there is a lot to be optimistic about.
"I think the whole squad’s quite strong this year. We’ve been training really well," McIntee (23) said.
"[Coach] Darren Hart’s been installing some good philosophies and taking really high-quality trainings. We’ve got the backing of Southern United as well, so it’s been a more professional environment. We’ve got a lot of experienced guys and a lot of guys coming in that are eager to learn, so our whole squad is deep. That obviously helps with the results; you can put a player on in place of someone else and not really lose anything."
McIntee has played for the Football South national league futsal team since 2010, when he was a year 13 pupil at Bayfield High School. He said having the experience of coming through the system was useful in his role as he sought to help the side’s younger players step up.
"I’ve been there through the ranks and I know it’s a learning experience for the young guys coming up. Adjusting from the Dunedin local level to the national level, it’s quite a lot faster and quite a bit more physical."
McIntee was born in Nottingham, England. He moved to New Zealand with his family at the age of 10 when his father got a job as an optometrist in Dunedin. After initially being unsure whether the move would be permanent, the family decided they liked the city and remained.
Since then, McIntee has obtained a bachelor of physical education from the University of Otago and now manages Fridge, a clothing and sneaker shop in the Wall Street mall. Recently, he unveiled his new urban streetwear brand, Deep South. It was something he launched with business partner Phil McDonald to try to create products based on Dunedin and the South.
Sneakers had always been a passion for McIntee, as is the case for many players of basketball, McIntee’s other sport. After several years away from it he returned to it this year, playing for the Bay Falcons. That came after several years of playing football in the winter, most recently with Green Island. However, he felt futsal was a good blend of the two.
"I’ve always been into basketball and football, and futsal’s the perfect blend for me.
"In terms of the high intensity, there’s lots of opportunities to score, lots of touches on ball and it’s on a similar sized court to a basketball court. I translate pretty well from the basketball court on to the futsal court in terms of fitness. It’s similar distances, short sharp stuff, as well as aerobic. Whereas football is very aerobic-based, running for 90 minutes."
The Southern United side begins its weekend at 10.30am tomorrow against WaiBOP and will also take on Auckland, Central-Hawke’s Bay and Northern. Despite its lead, McIntee was expecting Southern United to be in for a challenge.
"I think they’ve all taken points off each other in the Northern series.
"There’s been quite a few draws. Auckland haven’t lost a game yet; they’ve drawn four, won two. They’ve got lots of experience, they’ve got a few Futsal Whites guys, and there’s others dotted around the other teams. So there’s going to be no easy games. We’re ready; we’re not going to be taking anyone lightly."
