It’s been a somewhat tumultuous summer for Mount Pleasant Football Academy, but Sporting Director Paul Christie says he’s confident the team will be successful in this season’s Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League (JPL).

The St Ann-based club is to open its 2024/25 JPL campaign with an away trip to Portmore United at Ferdie Neita Park in St Catherine on Sunday at 4:00 pm.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the last season’s beaten finalists after a coaching U-turn and another influx of players.

Following the defeat to Cavalier in the finals in May, the club’s leadership announced they wouldn’t be renewing the contracts of Head Coach Theodore Whitmore, Assistant Coach Davion Ferguson and the rest of the technical staff.

They promoted academy head Harold Thomas to the senior role, citing the need to place more focus on infusing more young players to the senior team. Mount Pleasant also moved on from several players from last season including Reggae Boyz Demario Phillips, Ramone Howell and Romeo Guthrie while transferring in the likes of fellow national players Alex Marshall, Gadail Irving and Kyle Ming.

However, Thomas’ term was short-lived as he was fired after their 0-2 defeat to Cavalier in their opening game of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup on August 20. Whitmore and other members of his previous technical staff were re-hired days later and he oversaw their 2-1 victory over Arnett Gardens in their second group game.

The saga over Ferguson’s return was also closed this week after the club paid a reportedly hefty compensation fee to Portmore United to release him from his contract as head coach.

Christie told the Jamaica Observer that Mount Pleasant will be ready for the league’s start on Sunday.

“The technical team, led by Theodore Whitmore, has been here for the past two years so I wouldn’t say it’s a transition, he’s back doing what he does best and he loves what he’s doing. I can see the warmth and camaraderie that he presents and the galvanising of the group, the sessions are high intense and it’s going well so far,” Christie said.

If the team advances to the knockout stages of the Caribbean Cup, it will have to balance between the now 39-game JPL season and the regional competition over the next few months.

Christie, though, says he isn’t worried in the least.

“We have a no excuse approach to how we do things. We’re aware of the fixtures before so we’re not in the business of making excuses, we’re just trying to put our best foot forward and live with the results. But we relish the challenge of the Caribbean Cup and the Premier League,” he said.

“It’s a known fact that the more games you play, it enhances the development of the product and the players, so at Mount Pleasant we’re all for the extension of the league because that’s how you get true development.”

Over the last two seasons, Mount Pleasant have gone to consecutive finals while winning the first in their history in 2022/23. They also were able to complete a historic transfer with Trivante Stewart moving to the Italy’s top flight, with Salernitana in the Serie A.

Christie is optimistic they can continue this trend in the season to come.

“We are trying to cultivate a winning mentality and at the same time, we’re trying to develop the product which is the players, win titles and export players and we think we can achieve all three and that’s what we’re all about,” he said.