De Oliveira sorry over Chapelton relegation
Published:Wednesday | April 26, 2023 | 1:36 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
BRAZILIAN COACH Clovis de Oliveira, who was sacked ahead of the team’s Lynk Cup quarterfinal second leg against Portmore last Wednesday, said he is saddened by the fact that he was not able to produce the results the club deserve for their commitment and dedication.
However, he said the support he received from the Chapelton Maroons organisation and the respect the fans showed him throughout his two-month stint with the club are unforgettable.
“It is important for the Jamaican football fraternity to know that I was very proud and very happy the way the club and supporters treated me.
“The effort of Chapelton Maroon people gave me and my assistant coach (Gabriel Barros), and the president Michael Scott was fantastic.
“So from the bottom of my heart I say he did the best he could. He provided everything possible regarding the players and the structure.
“But this it is my responsibility and I feel a little sad that I could not give Chapelton Maroons better results.
“So, yes, I am very disappointed with the results but happy and proud of the work that we put in the club. We wanted to do good and tried our best,” he said.
The former national U20 coach, who returned to his homeland early this week, pointed to a number of factors that made the task of keeping the team in the JPL that much harder.
He said the psychological damage of losing six points and then the core of the team was hard to recover from.
Also not knowing the players full capabilities presented a challenge, and only in the latter stage of the season did he get to really know the players in the squad.
“When I came here in December I saw one scenario. Then I went back to Brazil and when I came back, surprisingly a day before they lost six points and that was very difficult for the club.
“So that made it difficult, the psychological aspect of the players. When you are at the bottom and you are two to three points away from relegation, it is okay.
“But when suddenly it becomes 10 points, the mentality of the player changes, the mindset changes because it is easier to climb a mountain that is 10 or 20 metres, than a mountain of a 100 metres,” he reasoned
He continued that. “I didn’t have time to know the characteristics of the players. But after two months I started to know their characteristics.
“Some players of the midfield didn’t have characteristics to play there and I found them their real positions and they started to perform much better.
“But I didn’t choose any one player. Of course I know this and take the blame. I have this responsibility but I needed time to know where the player could perform better and how is the characteristics of each player.”
He added that he would have loved to stay on at the club but will take some time to relax and assess his options, which include local offers.
In his 10 matches in charge, de Oliveira won only once with seven defeats. Chapelton are rooted at the foot of the JPL standings with eight points, three behind Faulkland, with two games to go.