Ludlow Bernard, the recently appointed interim head coach of Harbour View FC, said his main aim is for the club to progress to the semi-finals of the Red Stripe Premier League football competition.

The former champions are currently sixth with 37 points from 25 games, four points off Humble Lion FC, who occupy that vital fourth spot with 41 points from 26 matches.

Harbour View have eight matches remaining in the preliminary phase.

In Bernard’s first game in charge since replacing Andrew ‘Bowa’ Hines, the club registered an unconvincing 2-0 win over visitors Barbican on Sunday.

“Clearly, the ultimate aim is to get into the top four and as a matter of fact, I want to get into the top three and take it from there. Right now there is a lot of work to be done and it’s not going to be easy,” he said.

Bernard was quizzed on how the team can become better.

The new head coach, formerly in charge of the Under-20 programme at the club, noted that improved fitness levels and deepening of the squad by bringing in young players could make a difference.

“It is clear that the physical conditioning of the players need to be upgraded. I was a little disappointed with what I saw [against Barbican because] at this stage of the season; our condition need to be a lot better than that. We are going to have to plan over the next two weeks how we are going to approach it.

“We are looking at personnel and I want to introduce some of the younger players at the club, but there are administrative procedures which need to be done first. The squad right now is rather thin, and some of our leading players may not be available for various reasons for the rest of the season,” Bernard told the Jamaica Observer.

Bernard is assisted by former national players Ricardo ‘Bibi’ Gardner and Donald ‘Fowlie’ Stewart.

Hines, who filled in for Harold Thomas after he resigned towards the end of last season, was removed from the post of senior team coach following a string of unfavourable results.

Before the victory on Sunday, Harbour View, guided by Hines, had failed to win in six previous outings, including three straight defeats.

— Sanjay Myers