The 2010-2011 Digicel Premier League season is expected to kick off on Sunday and the Observer begins its daily preview of the teams starting today with Sporting Central Academy from Clarendon.

MAY PEN, Clarendon — Brandon Murray wore a dull look on his face as he spoke to the Observer in February about the torrid task he and his management team were having in keeping Sporting Central Academy alive.

Today, he appears a more contended figure, perhaps because he senses an exciting yet unpredictable future ahead for his young team.

The Clarendon-based outfit has been through the test of time (certainly within the last two years) with Murray — the club’s president — revealing last season how much they are struggling to meet a number of financial obligations — players often times going unpaid for months.

And despite boasting a number of national youth representatives in their line-up, Sporting have also failed to live up to expectation on the field.

In their first season of the Digicel Premier League (DPL), they defied the odds to finish in the elite top-six, but have regressed since and have had to fight off relegation in the last two seasons.

Now, approaching their fourth year in top-flight football, Sporting Central Academy seem to be finally maturing as a unit and are now hopeful that they will see the light that awaits them at the end of the tunnel.

Staying true to their promise to do things differently if they survived the drop last season, the club has restructured its administrative team with Clarendon businessman Garth Young coming on board to boost its financial standings among other things, Murray said.

“Garth’s involvement is not only financial and we really welcome him… ‘two heads are better than one’,” Murray said.

“He has been a sincere fan of the team for many years and this particular time he (sees) it fit to give his expertise from a management standpoint.

“He will not only be giving his own financial support, but he’ll be using his influence to attract more support for the team and it has really been a motivation for us,” he said.

As a part of the club’s drive for success, they have also returned for former national Under-20 coach Donovan Duckie, whose experience and tactical awareness they hope will blend well with youthful exuberance in helping them to accomplish their goal(s).

“When Donovan was here the club did well… the guys have a lot of respect for him. (So) based on his achievements it was not a difficult decision to bring him back… and he’s not filling a gap this time, so we intend for him to be here for the entire season,” Murray told the Observer in a recent interview.

For his part, Duckie thinks Young’s addition to the management team will have a domino effect on the players.

“…. Support can never be too much,” Duckie said. “Garth has been around the team for a while, he has a good rapport with the players and he has now decided to come on board to enhance the development of the (club) and… you have been seeing how it has affected their performance even in training.”

Sporting Central are also still ‘on a high’ from the impending departure of team captain JeVaughn Watson to Danish second division team Veje Boldklub.

Murray reckons a move for the national midfielder could be the shot in the arm that the players need to actualise their potential.

“Whenever we going through our financial challenges all of the players feel it,” he said. “They know what it means to be without money and to see things not going the way we want them to go. So, we always say to them, listen, ‘you guys are integral to this if we are going to be successful’.

“And I know they are all happy for JeVaughn because they know that he works hard and this will now motivate them to achieve their own goals…,” he said.

And with a new era now in sight for Sporting, there is an aura of optimism amongst the players.

Marlon Allen, one of the senior members of the squad, said the players are more focused on the task at hand. “It’s really something good… because over the years (it was just) Brandon and we needed people to come in and give us this kind of support,” the former Clarendon College player said.

“It really boosts the players’ (confidence) and coming next Sunday you will see it against Waterhouse.”