Sporting will rise to the occasion — Watson
MAY PEN, Clarendon — Denmark-bound Sporting Central Academy captain JeVaughn Watson is confident his team will recover from last season’s near death experience and claim their place among the elite of local football even if he will not be here to help them.
Last season, Sporting Central, for a second consecutive year, managed to stave-off relegation from the DPL on the last day of competition with Watson firing the Clarendon side past Rivoli United, who were relegated after the defeat.
But with four years of Premier League experience under their belt, the national player — who is negotiating a contract with Danish second division outfit Veje Boldklub — believes things will be different this time around.
“You’ll see a better performance this year because we have better management and the younger players are stepping up,” he said.
“Since I’ve been back we played about two practise games and I see where they are more mature and doing more work.
“And coach (Donovan) Duckie is back… he’s a top coach in Jamaica who will not to be happy competing in the bottom six, so that is going to (push us),” Watson said.
Speaking about his time spent in Scandinavia, Watson, 26, noted that it was thrilling experience.
“It was exciting going into a professional environment, being around professional players and learning how to adapt a different culture, the language and everything,” the midfield general said.
The former Garvey Maceo daCosta Cup linchpin said the officials of Boldklub — five-time winners of the Danish Championship — were in awe upon seeing his talent.
“The first time they saw me I was playing a practise match and they were marveling about the touches that I have and the speed at which I play. They are really looking forward to me coming back because they call every day,” he told the Sunday Observer.
And if he does leave for Denmark, how does he see the Sporting coping? “I think the team will be OK because we have a lot of players here and everybody is looking to get a contract, so you will see players stepping up,” Watson said.
