DESPITE Mount Pleasant Football Academy losing consecutive Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League finals, Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore says he’s confident of his status as the team’s head coach and is already in preparation mode for this summer’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup.

Under Whitmore, the St Ann-based club won its first-ever national league title in 2023, beating Cavalier FC 2-1. However, Mount Pleasant have since failed to get past Cavalier at the final hurdle. In late May at the National Stadium they lost a second-straight final to Rudolph Speid’s team, going down 5-6 on penalties after a goalless full and extra time scoreline. In the 2024 final Mount Pleasant were also bettered by Cavalier in a penalty shoot-out.

Days following the 2024 final defeat, owner Peter Gould and Sporting Director Paul Christie opted not to renew the contracts of Whitmore, Assistant Coach Davion Ferguson, and the rest of the technical staff.

Director of Football Harold Thomas was subsequently given the head coach position. Thomas’s stint, however, lasted two months as he was sacked following Mount Pleasant’s 0-2 defeat to Cavalier to begin their Concacaf Caribbean Cup campaign.

Former Reggae Boyz midfielder and coach Whitmore, along with his previous technical staff, were brought back and led the team for the 2024/25 season during which they finished top of the regular season table, breaking the record for most points with 93 and most goals scored with 94.

Whitmore believes he’s done enough to prove to the ownership that he’s the man to take the team forward.

“Well, based on the results and what we’ve been doing I think they’d be okay, but I can’t speak of that,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Christie, meanwhile, says they have no intention of repeating the 2024 decision to replace Whitmore and his staff, and are planning with him in mind.

“What I can say, though, is our game model of incorporating the first team and the academy, we are very satisfied with that — and that’s led by Theodore Whitmore and his assistant Davion Ferguson,” Christie told the Observer.

“That is 100 per cent a comfort level of the ownership and the sporting director of the organisation. So the direction that we want to go, we’re on the path to get there so Mr Whitmore continues.”

Whitmore says consecutive penalty shoot-out defeats hurt but he’s not disappointed with the team’s efforts throughout the season.

“It was a challenging year for us in terms of the start but I’m still proud of the team and what we’ve achieved over the nine months we’ve been together,” Whitmore said, adding that he’s already in preparation mode as Mount Pleasant seek to win the Concacaf Caribbean Cup.

“We have to look on how we go forward and how we approach [things]. We take a few weeks off, look back on the season, and look where we go from here. We have to quickly forget about the final and look forward to the Concacaf Caribbean Cup, so that’s where our head is at the moment,” said Whitmore.

Mount Pleasant, in their second-ever appearance, have been drawn in Group A in which they will meet 2023 champions Robinhood from Guyana, Trinidad’s Central FC, O&M FC from the Dominican Republic, and the winner of the CFU Club Shield which fellow Jamaican club Arnett Gardens are vying for.

Last year Mount Pleasant failed to make the knockout stages of the competition after finishing fourth in their group.

— Daniel Blake