‘Tegat’ surprised by Mount Pleasant return

The 2019-20 Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) season was barely a day old before it saw its first coaching casualty.

Donovan Duckie was sacked Monday night by Mount Pleasant Football Academy in a jarring decision that from the outside, may be seen us baffling, at best, and at worst, rash.

Former national player Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis, who was appointed interim coach in the aftermath of last night’s decision, said that it caught him completely off guard.

“I was surprised – really, really surprised. It was last night that I got a call, and then I saw it breaking [on] the sports news. I didn’t expect this,” Davis said.

Davis has been tasked with steadying the ship of the St Ann outfit, who, after their ­opening-round 2-1 defeat to Harbour View on Sunday, have already veered off course.

MENTAL PREPARATION

“The first thing I have to do right now is to get the guys mentally prepared because they were used to the coach before, and he just left suddenly, so my [task] is to get them together and focused and see where we go from there,” he added.

The hammer went down on Duckie via a letter from club chairman Peter Gould.

“The board and management of Mount Pleasant Football Academy, in a meeting led by myself, took the decision to terminate your contract with us with immediate effect,” the letter read.

Manager David Galloway stated that the decision to relieve Duckie of his duties was based not on Mount Pleasant’s opening-day loss but on the meeting that took place Monday night.

Meanwhile, Davis, who has also coached at Arnett Gardens and Montego Bay United, is hoping that his second stint with the club, which he lead to top-flight promotion in 2018, will be as successful and will convince the board of directors to change his appointment from interim to permanent.

“I’m on a temporary thing now. The team is looking a coach. I’m just filling in for the time being. Hopefully, I can do well and change their minds from getting another coach. It’s a job that I welcome. I’m going to try and do my best,” Davis said.

With the club having high aspirations of a top-two finish, Davis insists that he is under no pressure and is fully prepared to take on the challenge.

“I know the job is not going be easy. All I have to do is take my time, build on what the other coach has left, and take time build my system, have a nice rapport with the guys, and we will take it from there,” he said.

Davis first game back at the helm will be against Humble Lion FC at the Effortville Community Centre at 3:30 p.m.