Balancing act continues for top JPL sides

For clubs competing at the highest levels of football, balancing domestic and international commitments is always a major challenge. Many teams are able to maintain a high standard in one competition while falling below expectations in the other.

Mount Pleasant assistant coach Davian Ferguson says that even after four consecutive appearances in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup (CCC), the club is still trying to find the right balance between regional and domestic competition.

After losing their opening match in this season’s CCC, Mount Pleasant were forced to respond quickly. They rebounded with a draw and two wins to secure a place in the semi-finals.

Their domestic form, however, suffered early. Mount Pleasant opened their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) campaign with back-to-back defeats before recovering with a win and a draw.

Although Ferguson believes the club is improving in its efforts to manage both competitions, he admits that there is still work to be done.

“We are still trying to see how best we can straddle both competitions in terms of the Caribbean Cup and the Premier League because in both competitions, we are now experienced enough to manage both.

“We are the first team to have won the (CCC) competition and make the semi-final the next year. So for us, it is about creating more history because that competition is important to us, but the JPL is also important because without the JPL, we won’t have participation in the Caribbean competition.

“So it is about balancing both competitions and trying our best to see if we can arrive in each match in optimum condition,” he said.

Maintaining balance

Ferguson lamented that stressing the importance of maintaining the same level of performance in both competitions does not always resonate with players, some of whom naturally place greater emphasis on one tournament over another.

“Sometimes I think it is the focus of the players. Some are switched on to one competition, and to switch on between (the other) is not that easy.

“We are playing against very good teams locally. It’s all about jostling for points at this stage of the season. It is a work in progress in terms of balancing both competitions. It is not something we have fully unlocked as yet, but we are not very far from unlocking that,” he commented.

Portmore United, the other Jamaican club through to the CCC semi-finals, have managed the dual campaign better. However, they have played only two JPL matches, allowing them to devote greater attention to their regional objectives.

Coach Rodolph Austin believes that the tendency of players to prioritise one competition over another can affect a team’s consistency.

“I was a player also, and sometimes when a coach is telling you not to, I think it is in their minds, but we as a club and as a staff, we try to ensure that they know that it is two competitions, and this is the one we are in now, and we are fully focused here, but you can only tell the players so much. I think it is a mentality thing. I hope that was not the problem here tonight (Monday’s 1-1 draw versus Arnett), but it can cause problems, but it is no excuse,” he stated.

Portmore will host Haiti’s Violette in one CCC semi-final next Tuesday, while Mount Pleasant travel to Trinidad and Tobago to face Club Sando in the other semi-final the following day.

The fixtures will provide both teams with a temporary break from JPL action for approximately three weeks, allowing them to focus fully on their regional ambitions.

Nevertheless, Ferguson believes that the length of the Premier League season gives quality teams sufficient time to recover from slow starts.

“We don’t play again in the JPL until about three weeks. Our full focus switch to the Caribbean Cup. Both legs.

“The last two (JPL) games were not a bad sign. We have four points to show and three goals for and one against. So we are building slowly in the JPL.

“It is really early days. We have seen before where teams falter in the first two rounds and in the last round make a push.

“We have seen teams finish outside the top two and have gone on to win the JPL. So for us it is early days. Only four games out of 39. So we have enough time.

“This competition that we are in the Caribbean, we have a few more weeks of it, and then focus will shift back to the JPL.

“We are building slowly (in JPL). Still not where you want to be, but in the last two games, we have made an improvement, and it’s about continuing that progress.”

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com