Not my choice - Duckie unsure about his future at Mount Pleasant

Head coach Donovan Duckie said it is now up to the owners of Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) semi-finalists Mount Pleasant Football Academy to decide whether he will be continuing in his role at the club next season.

The vastly experienced Duckie guided the team to a fourth-place finish in this year’s RSPL, in their first-ever appearance in the competition after their promotion to the island’s top league last summer.

Duckie told The Gleaner that he believes that the team did well in this season’s competition but is well aware that there are no guarantees as far as his job is concerned, pointing out that is left to the owners and management to decide on his future with the St Ann-based team.

“I am not sure (if I will be back). If the owners see it fit for me to be back, then it is up to them,” said Duckie, following his team’s 1-0 defeat to Cavalier in the third place play-off game on Monday night at the National Stadium.

“What we have done is unprecedented, and it is history because we put together 34 players, 17 matriculated from the Super League and 17 that we brought in,” he said. “It wasn’t easy to put the pieces together because they are players from different backgrounds and most of them have never played together and so the social challenges was one of our major issues, but despite this, I thought we did exceptionally well.”

Mount Pleasant, which invested heavily ahead of their RSPL debut, bringing in a number of high profile players, were tipped as a serious contender for the title, despite it being their maiden campaign. They ended the regular season in third position, six points behind regular season champions Portmore United, who, of course went on to win the final against Waterhouse 1-0, also on Monday.

Duckie noted that the team’s main objective entering this season was to be in the top six but that they surpassed that by reaching the semi-finals pointing out that they now have a solid platform to build on going forward.

“ Yes, of course, I would love to be back here because after Waterhouse lost the final, I came straight here at the Super League with them, and I got them promoted, and so it was a very long season for me and it is a long season for the chaps and I thought we have laid a good foundation to build on,” said Duckie.

“The owners are pretty happy because the objective was top six, and we have surpassed that and let’s see. If they decide for me to continue, then I’d be happy to continue. It was a good season and we have to be grateful for our achievements. We have created a solid platform to build on,” Duckie stated.