‘Rambo’ undaunted by JPL challenge

It has been a baptism by fire for Omar 'Rambo' Wedderburn in his maiden season in the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League (JPL) as he fights for survival at the helm of Treasure Beach Football Club.

Wedderburn, who had gained notoriety with his exploits at the schoolboy level with St Elizabeth Technical High School, is the man trusted with the job of keeping Premier League football in St Elizabeth after guiding the team to promotion at the end of last season.

At the time, Wedderburn had remained mindful of his team's chances of retaining their spot in the league, aware of the difficulty of the task at hand.

"This is a totally different competition, so you can't coach the same way. We have to make sure that we get our preparation right before the competition starts, and then we will see if I can manage this league," he told STAR Sports before the start of the season.

Perhaps prophetic, Treasure Beach have not endured the warmest welcome to the league, with only two wins in 13 games and slumping to an eight-game losing streak.

Despite the poor start to his first premier league campaign, Wedderburn is undaunted by the challenge. He believes this will prove to be a learning curve for him and feels he is improving as the season continues.

"Honestly yes, the competition is much bigger and better. You have more organisation at this level and you have better quality players going up against better quality teams. So it is a challenge and as a coach you would want to put yourself in that challenge but not to be on the losing end every single playing week. It is a lesson and I'm glad for this lesson for my personal development, but not to be a loser though, but to learn better planning for games, better preparation for the season and stuff like that," Wedderburn said.

While his current aim is to help Treasure Beach achieve their aim of remaining in the league, Wedderburn said he hopes that he can become a long-term fixture in the JPL for years to come.