DESPITE watching a nine-point lead wither away by Boys’ Town, Tivoli Gardens manager Brian Rose is still oozing confidence his team will be crowned Digicel Premier League (DPL) champions this afternoon.

Tivoli start the final day on 69 points — one ahead of the title-chasing Boys’ Town, on 68, and both teams clash today at the Edward Seaga Stadium.

“We know we can overcome the obstacle of Boys’ Town. We just have to stay focused as we have been doing all week mentally and we expect a grueling game and all things being equal, the boys just have to go out there and get the job done,” said Rose.

In three DPL meetings this season, Boys’ Town got the better of Tivoli Gardens twice, winning 1-0 on September 15 at Collie Smith Drive before winning 2-0 at Tivoli Gardens on November 21.

The orange and black-clad Tivoli won 1-0 at Collie Smith Drive on January 26 and further boosted their confidence, ousting Boys’ Town out of the Flow Champions Cup All-Island Knock-out tournament in April.

At the end of February, Tivoli Gardens opened up a nine-point lead, but only won four of their last 10 games and watched anxiously as the Red Brigade whittled away at that lead to just one point with a string of victories.

“We are a bit disappointed seeing that we let such a gap slip to just one point, but the team has realised that that is behind now and will have to focus on the game on hand…,” Rose pointed out.

“It is do-or-die situation for both teams. It will be a very hotly-contested game and the team that makes the least amount of mistakes I expect to win. Our only aim is to come out of this game with a positive result,” added Rose.