Reynolds optimistic about Lion’s youth

Coach Vassell Reynolds believes his youth revolution at Humble Lion is taking shape positively, despite finding favourable results hard to come by since taking charge in late December.

On Sunday, the Clarendon-based Humble Lion lost 3-2 to Molynes United, after falling behind 3-0 before halftime. Humble Lion have lost four, won twice and drew once under the coach's guidance, but Reynolds, who also guides Kingston College, is convinced they are heading down the right path.

"I think we are moving in the right direction. Over the last few weeks, we have brought in over a dozen under-21 players, and at any given time, we have at least five of them on the pitch," he said.

"Now, what we have is a mixture of youth and experience. It will take a little time to get it right, but we must understand that we are in the middle of the season, so we must learn as quickly as possible."

Former coach Andrew Price took Humble Lion to the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) quarter-finals in the last two seasons; however, fans often complained that it was an ageing squad while also accusing the younger players of not showing the right attitude or work ethic to demand their place on the field.

Nevertheless, Reynolds insists they have already started the process with the young players and pointed out that their inexperience has shown up on occasions. He said they must see it through and challenged the senior players to help them transition.

"When we assessed things, we wanted the first four or five games in the second round to have clean sheets. Today (Sunday), we came here and scored two goals and still couldn't get a point," Reynolds said.

"That is a sour point for us in terms of the amount of goals we conceded. It has really set us back in the goals we would have set for the first four or five games.

"We are getting the pieces together somewhat, but the senior players must continue to encourage and push the younger players, as that is the only way they will grow and get up to the level we require," he continued.

Humble Lion are 10th in the table on 14 points. They play fellow strugglers Harbour View in their next game, but Reynolds does not expect it to get any easier.

"This (defeat) puts us under a bit of pressure to get a result in the next game, so we just have to go back to the training ground and put out maximum effort and try to come back as best as possible," he added.

livingston.scott@ gleanerjm.com