1 year ago
19
THOUGH THERE is just one more game until the third and final round of fixtures in the Wray and Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League (JPL), Vere Phoenix United technical director Craig Butler is confident his team will survive their relegation scrap.
Vere Phoenix currently sit 13th in the JPL standings with 19 points, just above bottom-placed Humble Lion with 18.
The Clarendon-based team suffered their 14th defeat of the season on Thursday when they fell 2-1 to Tivoli Gardens.
Speaking after the game, Butler said the players’ performances have been improving with each match week, and they are ready to turn their fortunes around before the end of the regular season.
“We have a whole round to go. We just have to go out there, and the team is coming into its own now. We have been playing a lot better football. We played better in the Chapelton game the other day, and they played well today,” he commented in his post-match interview.
Butler also believes that, with the right results, their chance of making it into the top six is not yet out of the reach of his players.
Waterhouse sit in the final qualifying spot for the JPL play-offs with 34 points, a 15-point gap Butler is eager to close in on.
FIRST PRIORITY
Despite his lofty ambitions, Butler stated their first priority is to escape their current standing in the relegation zone.
“We just have to just focus on the last part, doing our best and making sure that we stay up; that’s the first thing,” he said.
“More importantly, if at all possible, we want to win some games and try and make it into the top six.”
Vere Phoenix’s next game will see them taking on Arnett Gardens at the Catherine Hall Stadium in a Monday night fixture.
Arnett are looking to return to winning ways after their scoreless draw with Portmore United last time out, and will enter the fixture confident of nabbing all three points.
The last time the two teams met, Arnett ran out 2-0 victors with goals from Marlon Martin and Rushike Kelson.
Vere Phoenix’s head coach, Lenworth Hyde, said their focus will be on building team chemistry as they eye a spot further up the table.
“We’re down there already, so all we have to think about is how to come out. So we can’t let that be a pressure on us,” he explained.
“We just know that we have to win games and try step out of the relegation zone, so we can’t worry about that. We don’t want to instil that into any of the player’s heads, so we don’t want to pressure them. We just want to train, get some camaraderie going, get some team spirit going, and try and win some games.”
English (US) ·