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I needed time, says Hyde
July 16, 2024
VETERAN coach Lenworth Hyde believes his sacking by Jamaica Premier League (JPL) outfit Dunbeholden was premature. Hyde was relieved of his duties after one season which saw the team finishing the 2023/24 regular season in eighth place.
"I needed time to build a team. I remember a game against Arnett Gardens where we dominated and lost 1-0, so I saw signs of a Clarendon College style of play forming in the team. I told management that this wouldn't take one season. It took me five seasons to get Clarendon College playing how they are playing now, and this is now embedded in them," he stated.
According to Hyde, he inherited a new team compared to the one that lost to Harbour View in the 2022 JPL final on penalties. Therefore, he was aware that to get back to that level would require some amount of patience.
"They lost about six players from the team that went to the 2022 final. Therefore, this was a new team with a new coach and in a new environment. It would take more than one season to rebuild a team but management wanted to go in a different direction and that's what owners do all over the world," he added.
The three-time title winning coach explained that one of his toughest disciplinary moves during his brief stint was that players who missed a training session would be removed from playing squad for the upcoming fixture. He felt like that move may have rubbed some persons in the club the wrong way.
"I wasn't afraid of losing as I told them if they missed training they wouldn't play. I've coached Harbour View with Jermaine Hue, Tivoli Gardens with Orane Simpson and Navion Boyd and those players never missed training," he remarked.
Hyde shared that any improvement to the fortunes of the club, if he was still at the helm, would arrived this season based on the lessons learnt in the previous campaign.
"If I was going to do better it would come this season. I would have learnt from last season to know what would be needed for this year," he added.
For the immediate future Hyde suggested that his focus is on the reigning daCosta Cup champions.
"No one has reached out as yet. My focus is on Clarendon College for the time being," Hyde said.
