A football coach’s job will never be safe unless the team under his or her guidance gets consistently favourable results.

That was the charge from Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell as he addressed the opening ceremony of the eighth staging of the JMMB/JFF/UTech Advanced Level II Coaching Course yesterday.

The football boss, it was felt, was giving the 25 participants — including one female — their first instruction before starting their higher level of training of the realities that come with the territory of being a football coach.

And as experience has taught, Burrell’s words should not be taken lightly, as he has had to give the pink slips to a number of national senior coaches who have been deemed to have performed below par.

“Football, as they say, is a very ungrateful sport… but nonetheless it all depends on the reason. As you will recall coach (Theodore) Whitmore did what I still believe is the honourable thing in that he did not achieve the level of success that everyone expected and so he stepped aside,” Burrell said.

The JFF president was making reference to the recent resignation of Reggae Boyz head coach Whitmore, following four consecutive defeats of the team in the ongoing CONCACAF World Cup qualifying campaign.

“That is the way football is run across the world; coaches’ tenures depend on the results they get,” continued Burrell.

In the same breath, he promised yesterday’s gathering that a successor to Whitmore will be named in “short order”. “We will be naming a new coach to take up the reins and we will move on with our plans,” he said.

Whitmore, an iconic figure of Jamaica’s football, tendered his resignation following the Boyz’s 2-0 defeat to Honduras in that country on June 11. But that loss was a culmination of a string of unfavorable results that included home defeats to the Mexico (1-0) on June 4 and the USA (2-1) on June 7. Prior to those games, the Boyz also lost 2-0 away to Costa Rica on March 26.

Those results have left the Boyz precariously at the bottom of the hexagonal pile on a mere two points.

Burrell, the visionary behind Jamaica’s only appearance at a senior World Cup back at France 1998, said coaching education has become focal point of the development thrust of the football programme.

“Focus has now shifted to development and so I want to encourage all of you to take in all the instructions which will be meted out to you, and in particular, (that from) Mr Stephen Constantine,” Burrell added.

“Gone are the days in Jamaica when an individual can put on a shirt that says coach, then he gets a whistle and put it around his neck and says, ‘ok, I am a coach’. Those days are gone,” Burrell trumpeted.

Approximately 360 coaches have passed the 14 Level One Coaching Courses and 160 have moved on to Level Two since Jamaica Money Marketing Brokers (JMMB) and UTech partnered with the JFF in 2010 for the coaching school.

Kerry-Ann Simpson, JMMB’s group marketing manager, extended congratulation to the JFF for their continued commitment to the development of football.

“At JMMB we are so grateful and appreciative and acknowledge the commitment of the JFF in the development of the sport. We want to thank the JFF for allowing us to be a part of this initiative,” said Simpson.

She then pointed out her company’s commitment to the course, which is valued at $2 million, and also had a few words to the coaches.

“We see you as agents of change and it’s less so about the technicalities but also about using the special opportunity you have to shape the values and attitude and behaviour of the players that you are coaching. That’s an invaluable role that you are playing,” said Simpson.

UTech — the facilitator of the course and the institution that shaped the science aspect of the overall coaching curriculum — through its head of the School of Health and Applied Sciences Dr Kamilah Hylton, pointed to the importance of the union of science and sports.

“There is no way you are going to get the ultimate from your athletes unless you understand the focus of nutrition, the psychology the bio science and its belief in this, why we are proud to be involved in this programme,” noted Hylton.

Meanwhile, Englishman Stephen Constantine, who will be the chief instructor of the course, comes with a wealth of experience having coached several national teams in Nepal, India, Malawi and Sudan. He has also been first team coach of English Championship side, Millwall.

In 2011, Constantine, who was voted as Manager/Coach of the Year for all British Managers working abroad, has been coaching for over 20 years and is a UEFA Pro Licence holder.

“I am here to help you not here to teach you to play football. I am here to help you to teach the players,” said Constantine.

“The course on paper looks very interesting. You are the jewels in the crown. It’s the development of coaches, who will develop the younger national sides. Your jobs are more important than that of the national coach. Without you, there won’t be Under-17 and Under-19 teams. I will do everything I can to help you,” he noted.