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Harold Thomas has a mountain to climb
January 22, 2025
Harold Thomas returned to the helm as coach of Dunbeholden Football Club over the last week, and after a 2-0 defeat to Tivoli Gardens in his first Jamaica Premier League (JPL) game back in charge, Thomas made some shocking comments about the players, saying they were not up to the league's level.
"The team needs a number of things to be able to compete at this level. For some reason somebody thought these players could compete at the Premier League level and they were wrong. They were mistaken.
"So there are still a couple days left to change it. If the will is there it can be changed. If not it's going to be a long rest of the season," he declared.
Dunbeholden are 12th in the JPL standings, just one point and one place outside the relegation zone.
They host Vere United today in a 3 p.m. kick-off and Thomas said the objective is to turn around the fortunes of a team that has not won in seven matches.
However, he does not think there are many viable options out there in the local market, and said it will be up to the players to put in the kind of work that will allow them to be more competitive.
"I do not know about being heavily involved in the transfer market because this transfer market does not have that wide a gate for replacement. But we have to do what we can and a lot of the effort have to come from the players themselves if they want to continue in this league. Everybody will have to step up. Everybody will have to work harder," he insists.
Thomas took Dunbeholden to the 2021-22 JPL final, where they lost to Harbour View. The following season he brought them to the quarterfinals, where they lost to eventual winners Mount Pleasant.
Thomas then left Dunbeholden to join Mount Pleasant as head of their academy. He also took charge of the senior team briefly at the start of this season but only had one game before he was removed from the post.
Although he continued in his role at the academy, Thomas decided to walk away and after previous Dunbeholden coach Byjeon Thomas resigned recently, the club called on him.
Thomas said turning the St Catherine club season around is not that difficult but that having the right players will be crucial.
"There are a number of shortcomings to this team and this cannot continue, and there are a number of areas that we have targeted (for improvement).
"But there are 21 games left after this and that is 60 something points. So it can easily be turned around but with the right resources (players)," he stated.
Two other games will be played today - Chapelton vs Portmore and Harbour View vs Waterhouse - both games kick off at 3 p.m.
