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Mount Pleasant Football Academy’s sporting director Paul Christie says the recent arrival of Jamaican international Warner Brown is just another step in their ambitions of becoming the central hub for the best Caribbean footballers.
“Let me say on behalf of the organisation, we’re fully committed to the purpose of improving football in St Ann, the Premier League, Jamaica and the entire Caribbean,” Christie told The Sunday Gleaner.
“The acquisition of Warner Brown is testament to the work that we’ve been doing and that we’ll continue to do. We truly believe that we are in a privileged position to do something that will benefit not just Jamaica, but Caribbean football.”
Mount Pleasant announced the shock transfer of the summer window when they revealed they had acquired the services of last season’s Jamaica Premier League (JPL) golden boot winner Warner Brown from Arnett Gardens.
Brown has been in the spotlight recently as his exploits in the JPL earned him a place in Reggae Boyz head coach Steve McClaren’s squad.
In his time with the national team, Brown has since scored four goals and provided an assist in nine appearances.
While fans had expected the player and his former club to pursue a move overseas, they were left surprised when he penned a deal with JPL runners-up Mount Pleasant.
Christie explained that Brown is a shining example of the quality of player the club will be looking to add to their ambitious project.
“We are trying to build a hub for the best talent in the Caribbean so that the member associations can become stronger and by extension, Jamaican and Caribbean football will be stronger. That is our vision and Warner Brown truly fits in the direction that we are going,” he said.
“To get a player like Warner Brown, his exploits last season are well documented. It is just a testament to the work we have doing from the technical staff, the ownership, the medical staff, the physical staff, we’re all truly aligned with the project.”
BUYING SUCCESS?
Brown’s arrival is just another in a string of major signings for Mount Pleasant, which have drawn their fair share of public criticism.
The St Ann-based club has also signed Reggae Boy Demario Phillips, Ranaldo Biggs, Romain Blake, Kemar Foster and the Haitian pair of Daniel Saint Fleur and Raphael Intervil.
These signings have drawn public criticism from fans who have accused the club of simply buying their way to success.
When asked, Christie dismissed the club’s detractors, noting his vision to develop a platform capable of competing against the likes of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States and Mexico’s Liga MX.
“People will always talk but I can tell you, we’re focused on improving the product in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” he explained.
“We’re looking to make Jamaica a place that will be noted, that should we move into Concacaf, we will be looking to compete with the talents from Mexico and the MLS if the project should be successful.
“So we’re not just looking at the JPL level, we’re looking at how we can represent Jamaica well from a Concacaf standpoint.”
NATIONAL PLAYERS
With national senior men’s coach McClaren paying special attention to the local league, Christie said Mount Pleasant will always look to add players to the national ranks.
“What is happening now is the national coaches are taking a serious look at the players from our league and I think we’re doing well where that is concerned. We would have had players like Shaquan Davis, Sue-Lae McCalla, Fitzroy Cummings and Kyle Ming, just to name a few.
“What we’re doing is just continuing on the path, to have the Premier League players being taken seriously at the national level and Warner Brown is just another good acquisition to continue to get the attention of the coaches at the national level.”
Mount Pleasant’s next assignment will the Concacaf Caribbean Cup, where they have been drawn in Group A alongside SV Robinhood, O&M FC, Central FC and the winner of the CFU Club Shield.
Group stage action in the Caribbean Cup is set to kick-off on August 19.
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