DENBIGH, Clarendon — For this season, the objective appears to be routine — simply “qualify for the second-round” of the daCosta Cup.

But long-term they are hoping to make a huge statement. As the man leading the charge puts it, “we want to make Denbigh a giant in Jamaica”.

Coming from an institution that is only 45 years old — and is perhaps still regarded by many as an upgraded high school — it will be easy to see that statement as nothing more than sports rhetoric.

Yet, with all that they have achieved in the last decade one would, perhaps, be foolish not to pay attention.

On the academic front, they are already keeping the likes of Clarendon College and Glenmuir High in check, while on the netball court the only school in rural Jamaica who can rival them is Holmwood Technical.

However, the doubt that surrounds this ambitious project to transform Denbigh into a football powerhouse — without the backing of an affluent past student association — is understandable.

During the early years of the feeder teams, Denbigh was perhaps the Clarendon school that suffered most from the controversial player transfer system. They were seen as the efficient production line for the trophy-hunting teams in the parish and would lose at least one player — usually their best asset — per season to the likes of Clarendon College, Glenmuir, Garvey Maceo and/or Lennon High.

Despite this steady exodus, the central Clarendon school always managed to give a good account of themselves, irrespective of the group in which they are placed. They would sporadically qualify for the Inter-Zone; on one occasion they even made it to the quarter-finals. The school’s ability to sprout talent was therefore never in doubt.

However, with the feeder system seemingly not as prevalent as it once was, the general expectation was that Denbigh would finally give the traditional schools a run for their money. So far, they have not — most times narrowly missing out on Inter-Zone qualification.

Now, it appears the school administration has grown weary of the unfulfilled promise, and Garfield Carney, the man who coached the team for the past decade, paid the consequence. He was sacked at the end of last season, mere months after the new principal, Kasan Troupe, took up office at the Jackson Road institution.

They are now taking orders from Linval ‘Pala’ Wilson, the former Reno FC and Jamaican defender, who is being assisted by Anthony ‘Tutu’ Roberts, formerly of Lennon High.

Naturally, the school population is now expecting a lift from the new coaching staff. While Wilson is well aware of this, he said there is no unnecessary pressure to deliver overnight success.

“We are building a two- to three-year programme, so we have a lot of U-16 and U-14 players working with. But, soon, I think Denbigh will be a force to be reckoned with,” Wilson told the Jamaica Observer.

“Presently, a lot of administrative work is being done. Traditionally, Denbigh has done well in netball, so the move is to get the football on par. We are now working on our field, and then the aim is to have a dormitory for (student athletes) not only for footballers, because we want to make Denbigh a giant in Jamaica when it comes to academics and sports,” he added.

Still, Wilson knows this does not mean mediocre results will be tolerated in the interim. They are expected to compete with the heavyweights — Glenmuir and Garvey in Zone M — while making happy meals of the lesser teams. On Saturday past, they almost failed to do this.

Opening their campaign against a Porus High team which is constructed of mostly Under-15 players, Denbigh struggled for long spells to take control of the game. On a number of occasions, they even appeared likely to suffer a shock defeat.

To be fair to them, though, Denbigh were the better team — even if only by small margins — and eventually got the winning goal from Andrew Brown close to the full time whistle.

“I think finishing is our biggest problem,” said Wilson. “We passed the ball around a lot, but when the time comes to put it into the goal we not doing it. So, we have some work to do.”

Tomorrow, Denbigh host Garvey, last year’s beaten finalists, at the Effortville Community Centre, their designated home ground for this season.