Young coach Alex Thomas faces the predicament of trying to guide five-time champions Arnett Gardens into a successful season after the management of the club dismissed long-standing coach Jerome Waite one week before the start of the Red Stripe Premier League football competition.

At home against Humble Lion on Sunday, Thomas and his charges started positively with a goal in the opening minute, but things went downhill after that, as although they controlled most of the action for the duration of the match, they lost it 1-3.

It is a bad start for Thomas in an environment that can get hostile with coaches, as supporters have tasted success and have become accustomed to Arnett Gardens playing at a high standard and going deep into the season.

Thomas is, however, confident that he will be able to turn things around as the season progresses and deliver to the thousands of fans, who are watching and waiting cautiously.

“Not the start that I want, but such is life. I will have to go back to the drawing board and work again. It is going to be a long and tough journey and we will have to work, dig in and can’t give up,” he said.

“We didn’t get to please the crowd and give the crowd what they wanted, but at the end of the day, they are going to be happy,” he promised, predicting success for Arnett Gardens later in the competition.

Andrew Price, who, like Thomas, was coaching Humble Lion for the first time, was pragmatic about Thomas’s opening loss, having been head coach at neighbouring Boys’ Town for many years.

He said: “It is going to be difficult for any team that changes coaches just a week before the start of the season, so I think Alex has to be given time where he can impact his philosophy on the Arnett Gardens team.”

Thomas is taking over from Waite, who guided Arnett Gardens in four of the five seasons they were crowned champions. The 1978 victory was the only time Arnett Gardens won the competition without Waite, who successfully guided the team in 2001, 2002, 2015 and 2017.

Waite was removed from the coaching job, as the management of the club believes that his duties as assistant head coach of the senior Reggae Boyz is preventing him from giving the players his full attention.

Despite the loss in his first assignment, Thomas said he was satisfied with the team’s overall performance, as the players showed characteristics that he can improve on during the season.

“There were a lot of positives. The players, they stood up, they were workmanlike and played to the end of the final whistle and they realised their mistakes,” he noted.

—Job Nelson