Hankinson: Don’t rule us out!
Timothy Hankinson, technical director of Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) outfit Montego Bay United (MBU), said that his side still has a good chance of being national champions, based on the league’s play-off structure.
“I think that any team that qualifies for the play-offs has a chance,” he said. “There are probably more crowned champions that went in as lower seeds and peaked at the right time. I have seen a lot of teams that are sitting at the top half the league lose sight of what they are really playing for and go flat, losing form.”
“We hope that MBU is on the rise and will continue the rise to where they hit those peak performances in the biggest games coming up. We hope some of the teams at the top lose that motivation they would have had in the first and second round,” he added.
MBU who is in the best form based on the last five games, picking up 12 points, currently sits in sixth place on the 12-team table with 40 points. They face defending champions Arnett Gardens at home at WesPow Park tomorrow. Arnett has the worst form over the last five games, with just two points from their last five.
Hankinson, who said he is not concerned about the problems inside Arnett Gardens, believes none of his players can afford to have an off day in such a match, despite their opponent’s form.
“I think it’s one of those games where every one of our players has to be on their mark. If you can play better than the man that’s across from you, then we will have a good chance of putting in a strong team performance,” said Hankinson.
“We have been training this week to be a little bit faster, sharper and to take pride in winning. I think we have a good unified spirit and the team is right where it needs to be for Sunday,” he added.