Gilbert staving off pressure while pushing Arnett towards goal
Published:Thursday | December 26, 2024 | 12:10 AM
Coaching Arnett Gardens Football Club can get testy as times, especially when the results are not forthcoming. Xavier Gilbert is showing that he has the persona to handle the lofty expectations and the Trench Town team’s very demanding spectators as they chase another Jamaica Premier League (JPL) title.
Premier League winners on five occasions, the ‘Junglists’, as they are commonly called, command excellence at every turn and Gilbert has embraced the high-pressure job while building a tough team capable of winning the title.
“I know what I was coming into. Things have been going well so far. I’ve gotten tremendous support from the management side and from a lot of persons in the community,” he shared.
“The spectators will always be the spectators; that will never change, and they’re very expressive. You just have to understand, don’t take it personal, and get on with the job.”
Already, Arnett Gardens FC have added to their illustrious history by winning its first international title, the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Shield, putting away Antigua and Barbuda’s Grenades 1-0 in the final on Sunday, August 4, courtesy of Rushane Thompson’s 72nd-minute goal.
“We’ve set our sights high,” Gilbert said. “And with hard work, discipline and the support of the community, we believe we can accomplish great things,” Gilbert said.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
While he has coached at Waterhouse FC, another tough Premier League outfit and boys’ teams at Excelsior High, his career has been deeply rooted in women’s football, including guiding Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz and leading Excelsior High School to multiple titles.
When he had just joined the club, that was part of the rumblings among spectators.
“Before he came there was a lot of talk about Arnett bringing a woman coach, but he has just worked in a way that the fans would like him,” shared Delroy ‘Nyah’ Garrison, the team’s long-time physiotherapist.
A bona fide supporter of Arnett Gardens FC since inception, Garrison has also stated that success has warded off any chance of provocation.
“It appears like he has been here all along, he has not come under any pressure that much,” he said. “The team has not been playing that bad.”
What has some spectators peeved is their inability to watch training sessions, a practice that would sometimes draw many residents to the stands.
“That is the one thing that the spectators are disgruntled with,” one remarked.
Another spectator explained that the lockout was introduced during COVID-19, and has remained with the team now training mostly at mornings and at Charlie Smith High School, which borders their Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex home ground.
Gilbert, in the meantime, has long got past the initial fan complaints.
“A coach is a coach, despite the different gender,” he explained. “At times, it feels difficult to deal with the females more than the males, but I just have to put my stamp on things.
“The players know and understand what I want, what is expected of them. We set goals and objectives, and we just continue to work towards them.”
Part of hard-to-please Arnett’s steely armour was exposed on Sunday when they went to hard-to-beat at home Dunbeholden FC and registered a 1-0 victory, courtesy of Kimani Arbouine’s 15th-minute goal.
“I’m happy that we won,” Gilbert said of success in their first match of the second round. “It’s important that we started off the round on a winning note. We had to grind it out, but that’s what it is.”
Sunday’s three points placed the club second on 30 points, one less than leaders Mount Pleasant Football Academy in the 14-team league.
“The season is long, very, very long. We just want to be in and around where we are,” the coach acknowledged. “We finished third last year; you want to get better, so the whole objective is to finish in the top two.”
“The community has been very supportive,” he continued. “Their energy and passion drive the team forward. It’s all about finding that balance – understanding their expectations while keeping the players focused on our goals.”