Fri | Mar 29, 2024

'Don't get carried away' - Thomas warns Portmore players about holiday gluttony

Published:Friday | December 21, 2018 | 12:00 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Cavalier FC's Alex Marshall (center) tries to weave his way between Portmore United's Chevany Willis (left) and Cleon Pryce during their Red Stripe Premier League game at the Stadium East Field yesterday.
Thomas
1
2

Portmore United head coach Shavar Thomas said players will be held accountable if they come back to training out of shape from their holiday break. Many Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) players tend to return from the Yuletide season carrying extra weight because of excessive eating and drinking with family and friends. However, Thomas said that such behaviour is not accepted at Portmore United and that his players know the consequences for such actions.

"We will give the players some time off to be with their families," Thomas told The Gleaner. "We don't have players that usually go home every day to their respective homes, because some of them are from Montego Bay, St Thomas, or overseas. But we will definitely give them a break so they can come back refreshed," he said.

"It's a short turnaround, and they will be responsible in that time to do the right thing. So they are not only encouraged, but they know they will be held accountable. They know what they need to do, and they know what is required of them because it's their job."

 

Inactive period

 

Portmore's game against Montego Bay United (MBU) at the Spanish Town Prison Oval on Thursday was postpone because of industrial action taken by match officials. This, plus a break from training over the holiday period , means the side could struggle for sharpness but Thomas said the break will be good for the team, and he fears no regression.

"I have all confidence we will not be affected by the break," he said. "We have been doing back-to-back games for the last two weeks, so getting a break on the Thursday game would definitely help us to recover. So I don't see it as being bad - we would have loved to play the game and let the competition flow, but we are tough enough to deal with it," he added.

Portmore went down 2-1 to hosts Cavalier at the Stadium East Field yesterday. They led at halftime through Chevany Willis' 17th minute goal but Nicholas Nelson in the 65th minute and Alex Marshall's penalty in the 68th secured the comeback win. The result means the defending champions fell to second in the RSPL table on 33 points after 18 games, as Waterhouse's 3-0 win over MBU put them first on 34 points.