Former Jamaica Reggae Boyz forward Fabian Taylor says his contributions as head coach of Bridgeport High alone won’t be enough to significantly impact the lives of the school’s young players.

Bridgeport High suffered their second consecutive defeat in the ISSA Manning Cup after going down 2-5 to Mona High on Tuesday.

The St Catherine-based school took a shock lead in the fourth minute through Jaquan Stewart, but Mona roared back with goals from Niquan Allen, Skyler McFarlane, K’Vonte Phipps, Geovanie Howell, and Shane Stewart.

Jaden Anderson added a consolation goal for Bridgeport who now have a mountain to climb if they are to advance to the quarter-finals after losing 1-2 to Vauxhall last week.

TAYLOR… we as coaches here are charged with getting back the school to the top in Jamaica

However, Taylor, who has spent nearly a decade in the role, isn’t bothered by the lack of results on the pitch but more so off it, as he’s concerned about many of the players’ attitude.

“I’m a past student at the school, it’s a way for me to give back to the school and give back to these boys,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“These boys are lost and the school is somewhere where it’s not supposed to be, but we as coaches here are charged with getting back the school to the top in Jamaica, so we’re just here to motivate the boys and try to change lives.” Bridgeport were once a force in the competition, having won the Manning Cup in 2001 and 2006 and brought through a number of top talents including Taylor, Darren Mattocks, Andre Clennon, and Kenardo Forbes, who all represented Jamaica at the senior level.

However, the school has struggled in recent times through a number of factors. Taylor says more support will be needed to see real change. “I think we need all the help that we could get.

The school’s been struggling for years in terms of resources and playing field. We don’t have a playing field.

So just the simple things we’re not getting right, but we are here, we are still trying to get people to come on board and to believe in us and to believe in the program so that these youths can see some difference.” Mona, meanwhile, stay top of Group D with six points and will now turn their attention to Friday’s Walker Cup final against Kingston College.