After several seasons on the trot as bona fide Manning Cup contenders, St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) enter the 2021 campaign with lower expectations due to what coach Phillip Williams said is the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the programme.

 According to Williams, the programme is rebuilding with an inexperienced team at the Manning Cup level this season.

 “This team is a rebuilding team… we are basically starting from ground zero with this team. The pandemic has really hit our programme and I guess it would be the same for several other programmes,” Williams said.

 “So in terms of how competitive these guys will be, they are inexperienced. I know that they can play but experience goes a far way in terms of the expectations that we have for ourselves. Basically, our programme is for 22/23 and whatever we get from this season we will accept.

 “This team is basically the team that took part in the last Under-14 competition (2019). The average age for the team is 16 and there is nobody in the squad right now that has any Manning Cup experience,” he continued.

 In 2017, STATHS lost the title decider to Jamaica College (JC). They lost at the semi-finals stage to eventual winners Kingston College (KC) in 2018 and then in the 2019 season, they once again lost the final to JC.

 The competition was not played last year because of restrictions imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19 on the island. The COVD-19 restrictive measures delayed the start of preparation for this season, which had been in doubt.

Williams is, however, confident that the players will represent the colours of STATHS well during the season, being aware of the recent standard that has been established.

 “These guys they know what was done over the past few seasons. They have school pride and they have some reputations for them to play to protect and, although young, will try their best to carry on the legacy of the last three teams,” Williams said.

 He emphasised that any success this year will be achieved through the combination of all the players, but named Omar Laing, Dexter Manning and Nickoy Gayle as players who are capable of inspiring.

 In practice matches, STATHS drew 1-1 with KC and 2-2 with Mount Pleasant Football Academy. They went down 4-2 to Clarendon College and defeated William Knibb Memorial 3-2.

 They are drawn in Group B with Camperdown, Dunoon Park Technical, Excelsior, Jonathan Grant, Jose Marti, St Jago and Tivoli Gardens.