TUCKER, St James – NEWLY appointed coach of Montego Bay United (MBU), Timothy Hankinson, has stressed the importance of getting off to a winning start in the Red Stripe Premier League on Sunday.

MBU will play their first game against promoted former champions Portmore United at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St James.

After losing both Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League (SCCL) games and with two games to come, both at home getting three points from Portmore United at home, would be a good tonic for last season’s beaten finalist, the 60-year-old American said.

It will be a busy Sunday in western Jamaica as the newly rebranded FC Reno will also kick off their campaign against last season’s semi-finalists Humble Lion at Frome Sports Club, starting at 3:00pm. The match starts two hours before MBU welcome back Portmore United to the big league, after a year playing in the Confederation League.

MBU have lost their last three competitive games — to Arnett Gardens in the finals of the RSPL, to Panama’s Unido Arabe and DC United in the SCCL.

Winning at home will be important, Hankinson told Jamaica Observer West on Tuesday, as the team went through training drills at their WesPow Park grounds.

“It is particularly important since we are at home. Whether we play here at WesPow or at the stadium, this is Montego Bay and we are Montego Bay United, and so we have to play it like it’s a final and set that tone amongst our players that we don’t lose at home,” Hankinson said.

“This is a place where we have to build that confidence and draw on our fans’ strength, so I hope the people of Montego Bay will rally for us and come out and give us that support for our first match,” the much-travelled and very experienced coach added.

Hankinson, who has not seen the Portmore team in action, believes that the team will be hungry for victory.

“Obviously when you are a division down and you advance you have a hungry group underdog mentality, and that can be very dangerous, and so our players who were at the top of the standings last year can’t take a sleeping dog lightly. You have got to be really on your game,” he argued.

Additionally, he said his squad will also be looking ahead to September 22 when they host DC United at home.

“We are talking about the importance of continuing to build towards Champions League, and these games are vital in that preparation. But we have to rebound as we are coming off two losses in Panama and the United States, and it’s important to go out and fight for a win. Winning solves many problems, and the issues that we feel and the frustrations can be solved with a good victory on Sunday,” he explained.

So far, he said, he is happy with the group of players he has been working with for the past three weeks, and added that the team has depth, especially with the addition of new players.

“The new players will help to fill out our roster well; it gives us depth. For example, the two centre backs that started in DC — Ladale Richie and Cordel Simpson — will be out with red cards against Portmore, but we are fortunate that we have players like Winston Wilkinson and John Barrett who both started at centre back last year. Our depth chart at the centre back position certainly speaks loudly for itself, and so I feel very good about the depth we have,” said Hankinson.

MBU are also well served upfront, where Allan Ottey, who was part of the Reggae Boyz successful squad in the Copa America and CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments, and Dino Williams, who was in the Copa America squad, lead the way.

The whereabouts of Owayne Gordon, who played in a friendly international against Cuba in March, is not entirely certain, but club officials say he hasn’t been transferred. It is unlikely, however, that he will play on Sunday. Ronaldo Rodney is expected to take his place.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Morris, who was part of the MBU team last season when he joined in the January transfer window, is expected to be part of the Portmore United’s line-up.