But as they attempt to cope with the rigours of the statewide competition, it is worth remembering the journey which delivered those words of wisdom to Prospect Park.

When Gediminas Krusa was their age, he was a Lithuanian under-19 international sitting on the bench as FK Vetra played a Europa League qualifier against a Fulham side featuring Socceroos great Mark Schwarzer which had just finished seventh in the English Premier League.

Fulham won both legs 3-0 and would go all the way to the final against Atletico Madrid, although Krusa is still not happy with a controversial penalty converted by England international Danny Murphy.

After starting out with FK Atlantas in his home town of Klaipeda, the largest port in Lithuania, Krusa would go on to play in Latvia, Poland and Estonia before bringing his European experience to Devonport Strikers and Launceston City.

Now 30, he is the elder statesman in Lino Sciulli's youthful outfit and relishing his role as an on-field mentor.

"I feel I have a lot to offer them with my experience," Krusa said.

"I can see mistakes being made which are easy to avoid. Sometimes players listen to that. My mentality is a bit different because I am not from Australia and in Europe you can tell young players how to play, but sometimes here it is too much for them.

"The saying 'time flies' is so true. I remember being their age and hearing older players trying to tell me what to do. But it is up to them to decide whether they want to listen or not. If they want to learn from mistakes, they can get better.

"My goal is to try and help everyone and make every player better."

Krusa is pivotal to City's structure, providing the midfield energy which enables youthful attackers like Will Fleming, Stef Tantari and Yasin Mohammadi to deliver the goals.

The athletic linkman was judged best player when City beat Riverside Olympic 5-1 earlier this month, a result which guarantees the Prospect side the Guardian Pharmacy Cup which the Northern rivals play for each season.

Having also come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at home in round five, City go into Friday's derby brimming with confidence after three wins in their last four games.

Krusa, who divides his time between coaching Tassieroos youngsters and looking after his 16-month-old daughter Isabella, is pleased with the side's gradual improvement.

"We have a pretty young squad which is always tricky but we have climb a bit up the ladder and I feel we are improving players and can keep getting better."

Krusa, who has also played for Magpies Crusaders in NPL Queensland since coming to Australia in late 2017, said he owes his impressive levels of fitness to a track and field background.

"I did athletics training which made a big change to my game. I even competed in a few international competitions and did really well over 800m and 400m. The coach said if I trained just for it I could become a good 800m to 1km runner because I had good aerobic capacity."

Despite his lengthy journey, Krusa maintains the fundamentals change little.

"Each country is very different. The game is so much more physical (in Europe) and even rules are a bit different here. It is a new thing to adapt to that and challenging but it is my third year playing in Australia and I'm getting used to it.

"In football you need technique, physicality, fitness and tactical understanding and if you don't have all of those, your game won't work."

"When I was playing at Devonport he came to train with us and someone said about a young guy coming from Launceston and to be nice to him. He could make a lot better level but needs to listen and try and make his weaknesses his strengths. He can become a lot better player if he wants to."

"He is very quick but not very strong yet. But I remember how I evolved from being a skinny player when I was young. And I remember many players of 17-18 who are not very strong so work on other parts of their game. He needs to educate himself on the tactical side and decision-making. That can be a lot more important than skills or fitness."

"He's pretty professional, plays a lot of futsal and is one of the most skilful players in our team. He has amazing technique and left-footed players are essential on the market. If he could become more universal on the pitch and play a couple of other positions, maybe defensive positions, he can become a much better player and maybe a pro one day."