Shooting blanks ...Hankinson rues lack of MBU attacking options

Technical director of Montego Bay United (MBU) Timothy Hankinson said he does not have enough offensive quality at his disposal. He believes this is keeping the team outside of a playoff spot in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL).

"I think defensively we are solid, Xavier (Hutchinson) has come a long way as a goalkeeper. Our defensive midfield is strong, however, our attacking group is not strong enough. Everything is on Dino's (Williams) shoulders because I don't see any other goal scorers in the group, nor any young players coming up that's going to be the next goal scorer," said Hankinson.

QUALITYSTRIKER

"This year, we were left with one injured striker and that's not enough to be competitive in this league. You need three or four quality strikers to get through a season with injuries and keeping playing time competitive so they are hungry all the time," he added.

Pointing to Thursday's 1-0 loss to UWI, Hankinson said if that does not change, neither will the club's position in the standings.

When asked about the development of these attacking players, Hankinson told STAR Sports that many of the players in the RSPL are not technically sound enough to be playmakers.

"You have to train young players to be playmakers and not wait by luck or chance for it to fall into your lap. There are different technical exercises to increase the vision and ideas of that player in training. He has to be encouraged to take the risk at a young age that it's OK to make a mistake trying something, because that's what playmakers do. They take the greatest risk when they play on the field," said Hankinson.

Hankinson also noted that after developing these playmakers, the RSPL will lose them to even smaller overseas clubs because of the low monthly salaries local players are earning. He made reference to Owayne Gordon, who recently departed to rejoin United Soccer League (USL) club San Antonio FC.