Speid tediously improving Cavalier

Coach Rudolph Speid, a vital stakeholder in Cavalier Soccer Club, is dispelling popular belief that he is not above being fired.

Since returning to the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) in 2017, Speid has never failed to take Cavalier to the play-offs, even winning their first national title in over 30 years.

However, based on his position in their hierarchy and his overall influence, it is widely perceived that the astute coach is above being sacked. Not so, said Speid.

"I don't think I would get fired this year," he joked when the subject came up. "Cavalier is very professionally run, and I have a contract, which will be up at the end of this year. Everyone has a contract and can be dismissed if they are not living up," Speid pointed out.

Nevertheless, Speid, who became the most qualified local coach after recently achieving his A licence certification, said he is highly motivated and ambitious, and seeks to improve his players, team and club.

NO QUESTION

He said he leaves no room for his role as coach to be questioned.

"I have my objectives, and I always try to exceed them. If I were somewhere else, somebody would be after my job if I didn't perform.

"Our transfer budget is limited, and we have objectives. So I am hard on myself to perform," he stated.

Cavalier have built a reputation for playing talented teenagers, and Speid declared that one of his objectives is to maintain a certain age in the squad.

"One of the objectives is the squad age we want to have. We have a model. We only transfer in teenagers, so unless they were a former player, like Nicholas Hamilton, they must be an international player," he declared.

He also thinks he has proven that their youth model is workable and believes they have excelled at replenishing the squad each year.

"We have become the team that young players want to come to. We put a mentality in them and get them to perform at a certain standard," Speid said.

PLAYERS' MINUTES

"I don't tell them I expect them to win matches, but I expect them to do their jobs, so every player that comes into the club, we give them a certain amount of minutes throughout the season.

"If they get enough minutes each season, by the time it's their time to start they will be a main act, because they would have a lot of minutes under their belts for two, three seasons.

"Even though they will still be young, they will still have three years of experience. That works for me."

He added: "Since we have returned to the Premier League, the lowest we have ever finished is third; and of the teams at the top, we have recycled the most players. We lose five to six players each year, but we still came second in the Caribbean Cup and went to the (Concacaf) Champions Cup," he said.

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