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Waterhouse making improvements
May 09, 2023
Waterhouse are making sweeping changes to improve their internal structure and uplift their standard, according to chairman Bruce Bicknell.
The catalyst, admitted Bicknell, is the recent administrative blunder by their management, resulting in the loss of three points for the use of an ineligible player, which ultimately cost them a place in the playoffs by two points.
Waterhouse have long been criticised by supporters for not having a solid internal structure to meet the demands of the top-tier Jamaica Premier League (JPL).
However, following the disappointment of losing out on a play-off spot because of their administrative failings, Bicknell said he heard the cries of the Waterhouse supporters and has moved to make the necessary improvements.
"We will invest more money in administration, particularly staffing," Bicknell told STAR Sports. "We have had some discussions, and we want a general manager who is going to be driven by revenue and who will earn a percentage of revenue that he or she generates," he revealed.
"We also want a venue manager to deal with the field, maintenance and equipment. We also need to prepare the venue with better lights, so upgrading the lights is on the agenda," he said.
"We also plan greater investment in the team to give coach Marcel Gayle a chance to get better players."
The incident, which ultimately denied them a spot in the playoffs, was a learning moment, which Bicknell admitted was a hard lesson.
"I really feel it for the community, who are really upset. We have a very loyal community. Many were very vocal and expressed how they felt, and I cannot blame them.
"We learned some serious lessons this season, and basically we need an injection of cash to modernise our systems and processes. We want to give them (supporters) something they can be proud of in the future," he said.
He added that he takes partial blame for what happened and hopes that the steps that are being taken will improve the various aspects of their operations.
"I will take measures to prevent this in the future by investing more in the management. I told the players and coaches it wasn't their fault. We had an administrative blunder, and it is regrettable, but we will be stronger for it in the future," he said.
