‘Admiral’ Bailey opens up on Waterhouse dismissal
I don’t have anything to prove to them (Waterhouse) or anybody else. My record speaks for itself based on the amount of titles I have won at all levels.
Title-winning coach Glendon ‘Admiral’ Bailey has finally opened up about his dismissal from Waterhouse last season, pointing to impatience and indecision on the part of the club’s hierarchy.
Bailey, who is currently in charge at another Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) outfit, Humble Lion, outlined that Waterhouse’s administrators were unwilling to stick to the youth policy that was agreed on prior to the start of the season, arguing that the Drewslandbased club did not afford enough time for the team’s youngsters to mature and get the required results.
“It (Waterhouse job) was a sour note (to end on), because you and a person went into discussion to implement a system based on where you want the club to go in three years. But when the league starts you say you want to win,” Bailey said in reference to unnamed management figures. “So you watch me build a team with youngsters for that three-year plan because you did not say you want to win that year. Then all of a sudden you want to win.”
“When you are building a team with youngsters, you are going to struggle initially, but when they get mature and get the experience, they would start growing. So it was impatience,” Bailey added.
Bailey, who won the Premier League title twice with Tivoli Gardens and was handed the task of leading Humble Lion to their first RSPL title, said unlike at Humble Lion where his directive from the management is clear, things were less precise in Drewsland. He said the Waterhouse management was caught between long-term objectives and short-term requirements.
NATIONAL LEVEL
“They (Waterhouse) should have laid the cards on the table and told me what they wanted; whatever they want, I would have accommodated the squad to represent that. So this (Humble Lion job) is a different kettle of fish. I come into this and I know exactly what I came in to do. I know what the president expects me to do. He wants to win, so I know I have to come banging right away, so it’s a difference,” he said.
Bailey, who won titles at the parish, regional and national levels, insists he has nothing to prove and believes he has a squad capable of helping Humble Lion win their first national title.
“I don’t have anything to prove to them (Waterhouse) or anybody else. My record speaks for itself based on the amount of titles I have won at all levels,” he said. “We have the team, what we need now is to implement and get them to believe in us, the system and what we are trying to accomplish. I think they are buying into it now, so we are going to keep on doing what we are doing and I believe the more we go, the better we will get.
“This is a new coaching staff, we have only been here three weeks and we are still getting to know the players individually, their characteristics and all that, what they can and cannot do, and their condition. So we have been feeling out ourselves with them and I feel I am knowing the players now, so the minute we get it, we will start move forward,” he said.
Humble Lion are yet to win a game in three attempts this season, losing to Arnett Gardens and UWI before playing to a 0-0 scoreline with Portmore United.