No pressure says Duckie - Trophy-less Mount Pleasant coach defends record in top flight

As he prepares to make his fourth consecutive Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) semi-final appearance when he faces Portmore United tomorrow, Mount Pleasant’s head coach says that Donovan Duckie, he is under no pressure to finally win his first title.

Duckie, who is one the most consistent coaches in local football, led Humble Lion to back-to-back semi-finals from 2015-2017.

In fact, in the 2016-2017 season, he guided Clarendon-based club to the top of the league table, in the process claiming the $1 million bonus prize money, before parting ways with the club at the end of the season.

Duckie then moved to Waterhouse midway 2017-2018 season, where he guided the club off the bottom of the table and into the final, which they lost to tomorrow’s opponents, Portmore United.

Now, as he prepares to lead Mount Pleasant into battle against the defending champions at the National Stadium at 5:30 p.m., Duckie told The Sunday Gleaner that while he obviously hopes to lead the promoted St Ann-based club to the title this year, failure to do so would be a stain on his campaign or reputation.

HIGH STANDARD

“I have no pressure to try and win the title,” said Duckie. “What I always do is to continue the work and continue to exemplify high standards. Personally, for me, I would want to win the title, of course because the résumé is there, and I have dominated this league for years, and I have shown Jamaica and the world that I am very consistent.”

Duckie pointed out that many of the coaches that have won the RSPL title in the past have not made the sort of impact that he has had on the local game and that they are nowhere to be found now.

“Many coaches have won the Premier League, and where are they now? Many of these coaches who have won the Premier League have not made any impact after that and I have been very consistent in this league,” he argued. “To win the Premier League would be the icing on the cake to prove that this man is one of the greatest in local football.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s semi-final clash against Portmore United, Duckie noted that his team has prepared well and he is optimistic that they will put on a good showing.

“We are pretty confident in our project. We try not to worry about the things that we can’t control and think about the things that we can manage, which are our efforts and our performance level,” he said. “We are ready to play, and there is not pressure on us because no one expected us to be here for a first- time team.”