Big JPL clubs have prep advantage – Fitzgerald
Published:Tuesday | May 25, 2021 | 12:14 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Molynes United head coach Calvert Fitzgerald says that Jamaica Premier League (JPL) clubs with greater resources will be in a better position to start the season.
This, he says, is because they have the finances to keep their players together more consistently for longer periods.
He says having all his best players available for the upcoming JPL season will have its challenges, as many of them are still overseas and he will have to wait to see who will be present for the campaign.
“Football is a competitive sport and I don’t think teams, even small teams, go into a competition not hoping to do well,”Fitzgerald said. “COVID affected everybody, the entire football fraternity, but some clubs, because of greater financial backing, were able to keep their players together more, and I think those teams will be in a better position to start the league,” he said.
“But for smaller teams with little resources, players might have to go out and look jobs, so they may not have their players together as much, so it might be tougher on those teams.
“Originally, when we were training for the start of the league before it was postponed, I was pretty please with the composition we had.
“We got some players to strengthen what we have, as most of the players from the previous season were in their first season, so I was kind of pleased with that. But we have a few players overseas now, and we will have to wait the next few weeks for us to know who we will get back to play or who will have to sit out the season.”
EAGER TO PLAY
Although these factors could affect Fitzgerald’s plans for the season, he said he and his players are just eager to get back on the field to begin their preparation.
“To be honest, we are just so happy to play football again, first and foremost,” he said. “We encourage players to work by themselves to keep in fairly good condition, but we haven’t come together as a unit to see how fit they really are and if they have lost touch on the ball and all that.
“So we are just waiting for the go-ahead to train because our field has been passed by the Ministry of Health. We are just waiting to come together on the field and do some actual football training,” he said.
“To give an assessment now of the season would be premature, but as soon as we get back on the field I can make a better assessment. But I think we still have enough quality to make it competitive.”
The JPL starts on June 26. A total of 66 matches will be played over the preliminary stage, where each of the 12 teams will play each other once.
At the end of the round, the teams will be separated into two groups. The six teams in the bottom half will play each other in a round-robin format for points to determine final placings.
In the other group of six, the top two teams will qualify automatically to the semi-finals, while the other four teams will play off for the two remaining semi-final spots, over two legs.
The winners of the two-legged semi-finals, on aggregate, will advance to a one-off final.
Molynes United will be contesting only their second season in the JPL.