MONTEGO BAY, St James — Xavier Gilbert is to be announced as the new head coach of Jamaica Premier League (JPL) football outfit Montego Bay United, the Jamaica Observer has been reliably told.

The experienced Gilbert will be Montego Bay United’s fourth head coach over the last two seasons.

“Your information is correct; we were hoping to make the announcement [on Monday],” a senior member of the St James-based club’s management team said on Sunday when asked about the impending move.

Gilbert, who was at the helm of Arnett Gardens FC for the past two seasons, is to replace Paul “Tegat” Davis. Former Reggae Boy Davis had taken charge of Montego Bay midway last season, guiding them to the play-offs for the first time in nearly a decade.

It will be the second time Gilbert will be taking over from Davis as he had replaced the former national striker when he was named head coach of Arnett Gardens in August 2023.

Gilbert, a member of the national senior women’s team coaching staff, guided Arnett Gardens to back-to-back third-place finishes in the JPL. The ‘Junglists’ beat Montego Bay United in the third-place play-off in the just-concluded season, scoring the most goals in a game against them the entire season.

He was also in charge of Arnett Gardens when they won the Caribbean Football Union plate competition at the back end of the 2023-24 season.

Montego Bay United had replaced Head Coach Neider dos Santos with Argentine Rodolfo Zapata after the Brazilian just missed qualifying the team for the play-offs in the 2023-24 season.

In a surprise move midway last season, with Montego Bay United well set in the top three position on the JPL’s points table, Zapata was replaced by Davis. Andrew Peart was named as the club’s technical director. At press time the Observer was not able to confirm whether Peart will maintain his position in the new set-up.