The team may be in transition and the club far off the usual lofty positions, but Warriors' fullback Hafiz Osman said he will never leave the club - unless it's for an overseas offer.

He hopes to be among a rare breed of one-club footballers who stay with the club through thick and thin.

Except for a couple of years where he was called up to the national under-18 team, Hafiz has always donned the Warriors' sky-blue jersey from the age groups right to the senior team.

Said the 26-year-old whose contract ends next season: "I will stay as long as the club wants me, I will never leave unless an overseas offer comes."

Even if the new team takes the next one or two seasons to find their way back to the top?

"Yes, I want to stay with the club and win more trophies till I retire," was his firm reply, "I've been here so long. It's like my second family. Choa Chu Kang Stadium is like my playground.

"But of course, like any professional, I would like to try playing overseas. It doesn't matter where, I will try. In life, you have to try."

But for the moment, his focus is on helping the Warriors finish on a high.

"It's been a wild roller coaster ride compared to last few season, there have been more downs than ups this season. I think we have many new players who have gelled quite okay. I think all we need is some final tuning."

To help the Warriors' cause, the fullback has chipped in with his share of goals recently too, scoring with his head off Ivan Jerkovic' free-kick in the 4-0 win against Woodlands Wellington.

It was his third goal for the Warriors. The first was against Geylang United in 2006, and the second, a memorable one against Kashima Antlers, in the AFC Champions League last year.

Both are also headers. However, Hafiz, who looks up to Brazilian fullback Dani Alves, said he prefers assisting than scoring.

He said: "I prefer to assist than to score. People only look at the scorer and not the person who provides the assists, which is sometimes much harder than scoring."

That he has certainly done several times before, even in national colours.

At Singapore's victorious Asean Football Championship campaign in 2007, his crosses from the right resulted in a couple of goals for the Lions.

Not surprisingly, his personal target now is to return to the national fold.

He said: "I believe in dreams, My first dream was to play for the country. It came true. The second was to play against Kashima. The third one is to play overseas, and also to play for the national team again.

"Hopefully they will come true too."