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Dos Santos fights for MoBay to get it right
March 31, 2023
Since taking over the reins at Montego Bay United a few weeks ago, Brazilian coach Neider Dos Santos, on his third stint with the St James club, finds himself in a similar position to when he took over the last time.
Dos Santos first coached the western giants in 2009 before taking charge again in the 2011-12 season, when he took them from the lower half of the table to an end-of-round title and eventually a top-six spot that season.
Currently, MoBay are 10th in the table with 22 points, nine points off sixth place, the last play-off spot, and the Brazilian is hoping they can make the necessary improvements to challenge for the playoff, with six games remaining in the regular season.
MoBay drew the last game 0-0 against Chapelton Maroons, and Dos Santos was far from pleased, but he insists they will focus on getting better each match, with an eye on making the playoff.
"The only way to move forward is to get back to the ground and work hard to improve. We came here (against Chapelton) to get three points, and to get three points, we needed to win and to win, we need to perform.
"There is no other way to win unless we perform. I am not pleased with today's (Sunday) performance. No. No (didn't deserve three points). It was a result that was fair. We didn't play a good match," he conceded.
He also confessed that he needs the footballers to play better, and he is going to do his best to whip them into competitive shape before the second round ends.
"I want the team to perform better," he continued. "That is what we are going to do, and we are going to work hard to achieve that.
"This takes a while, and I am just getting to know the players. I get to know them already in training, but training is training, and match is match. I start to get to know them in match situations, and we are going to work out how to improve. We have to," he stated.
The area he has identified most needing improvement is the players' final delivery and decision-making in the final third.
Dos Santos is convinced that is where they need to focus most of their work, and if they can get these things right, then the playoff may become a real possibility.
"To score goals, the last pass or the last cross is very important. If that is not good, then any striker or any player in that position what can they do?
"We need to improve that and also our decision-making. The decision-making is a key point we have to improve," he said.
"At this moment, I can't look too forward. I have to look to the next match. We must look to play much better than we played today (Sunday), but I always consider everything," he said when asked if the playoff was part of his ambitions.
"I cannot look three, four games ahead. I have to look at the next match, but until the end of the season, until the end of this part of the league, we are going to fight for every match," he said.
