No cause for panic!
New Reno coach calls for patience
New Reno FC coach, Godfrey Drummond, said there is no need to panic after their 2-0 defeat by Cavalier because he had very little time to work with his team prior to their opening Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) game last Sunday. However, he expects a lot more after his first full week of training, when they travel away to face Tivoli Gardens at the Harbour View Stadium tomorrow. “Last week, I came on late (as coach),” he said. “I didn’t get a chance to do much (with the team). It was more about organising them and getting them to play the system I wanted to look at and it wasn’t a bad game, we just made two mistakes that cost us,” he said. “But notwithstanding, there is nothing to panic about. We still have quality, although we were without five of our regular players because they did not sign their contracts in time for it to be logged to the JFF, so they came late. But we have gotten the addition of two more players, and going to Tivoli, it is looking much better,” he reasoned. However, paying attention to the fine details will be critical if they are to make a big difference to their season. “This week, we got some work going, but it still is not what we want. We are still not having everybody at training at the same time, but we are in much better stead than last week and we have improved on our general play. “But it’s about getting the smaller things correct. We want to work on interpersonal discipline, like what time they reach training, the amount of effort and attitude. But once you get those things in place, we can only improve, once players understand their roles in the team,” he continued. Reno just missed out on a play-off spot last season, but Drummond is confident he has the players to be competitive this season and has his sights on a top-six spot this season. “We have the players at our disposal, but we haven’t gotten them to play together. But when everything falls into place and we have the full set of players, then in a matter of weeks we should be fully competitive. I want players to change their mindset and attitude towards training, but the squad is deep enough and we can actually challenge for a spot,” he said. Drummond, who has served the club for about 25 years, has done two stints as coach of Reno and has performed in various other capacities for the club. “I took them back to the Premier league in 2014, I was instrumental in winning Champions Cup when it was last played. I also worked with them when they were facing relegation in 2015, which was part of a rescue mission. But this year, we have set certain objectives and one was to finish in the top six and we are working to achieve that,” he said.