Words: Matt Dorman
Image: Ray Gardner/Redlands United

Redlands United's hopes of a maiden PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland Finals appearance have been boosted by the re-signing of young stars Adam Chandler and Elliott Ronto.

The Red Devils missed out on the top four for the second year running in 2014 but found positives in the performances of Chandler and Elliott, who combined for 42 appearances.

Head Coach Matt Chandler said the pair fit perfectly into his plans for next season and beyond.

"They're exactly the types of players we want to have," Chandler said.

"You want to keep your 21-22 year old players because as they get older they become the core of the team.

"Adam and Elliott both know what the league is about and very much understand what the club is about."

Attacker Ronto notched nine goals in his first season for Redlands, second only to Graham Fyfe, and his coach is excited for the QAS graduate to continue developing.

"He's probably one of the best strikers in the penalty box I've seen in the league," Chandler said.

"He's another year older now and we expect him to get better, but we will look to share the goalscoring load around."

Defence, however, remains a key concern for the bayside club after only two top 10 sides conceded more goals in the regular season.

Fullback Adam Chandler, Matt's son, will be tasked first and foremost with shutting out the opposition despite being yet to register a PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland goal himself.

"For us it's important we look at how we defend," Chandler senior said.

"Adam's a very good passer. Yes we would like him to get forward but his job is to work with the four, five others around him.

"We feel our defenders are very good at building moves and creating opportunities but primarily their job is to defend."

The Redlands boss is pleased with the squad assembled ahead of their return for a mini 'pre pre-season' on Tuesday and has his eyes on finals football.

"Our aim is to get into the top four. That's always where we want to be, but it's also about developing and nurturing young talent," he said.

"We're quite pleased with our retention of players, our recruitment and bringing up of youth players and really looking forward to the new season with the squad we have in quality and personalities."