Stewart exit scuppered by date confusion
Published:Saturday | January 11, 2020 | 12:17 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Dunbeholden manager, Andrew Christie, is hoping that the transfer of Waterhouse midfielder Tremaine Stewart can materialise before the end of the season.
The Gleaner understands that Stewart, who is keen on making the move, had a misunderstanding in when his contract ends. It is said he believed the contract with the Drewsland club would have ended on January 9, but discovered that the contract was actually set to finish in September.
But Christie says that Stewart was still in discussions with Waterhouse, who are not keen on letting him go, to find an amicable solution to facilitate his departure. As a result, Christie is still optimistic about a transfer.
“We have been in negotiations with Waterhouse from August, but there is an issue with his contract,” Christie said. “His contract was believed to have ended on the first of the ninth (January 9), but it’s actually the ninth of the first (September 1). So he is still under contract with Waterhouse, but he has expressed interest to come join us.”
Christie said Waterhouse are not prepared to part with the player but said the player wants to return to St Catherine and is still trying to manoeuvre a deal with the club.
“The player is a Waterhouse player, but we would love to have him. The player is from St Catherine and from the discussion we have had, he likes the vibes and passion at Dunbeholden and wants to come back home. Dunbeholden is the club of his choice.
Stewart was a key performer when Waterhouse reached last season’s final. He finished as one of the league’s joint top-scorer with Portmore’s Javon East and Tivoli’s Colorado Murray, now at Waterhouse, on 13 goals. It led to him picking up the MVP award.
The 32-year-old, who played in Norway for four years, is also rated as one of the league’s top dead ball specialists and it believed his ability to control the middle of the park and affect games from dead balls could impact Waterhouse’s chances of going all the way again this season.
“I have made it clear to the people of Waterhouse, who I love and am still very close to, that we would love to have him at Dunbeholden,” Christie, who left Waterhouse at the end of the 2017/18 season to manage the St Catherine club said.
Calls to Waterhouse personnel for a comment on the issue went unanswered.