Jamaica Observer | Sanjay Myers
DESPITE a largely new-look squad, Harbour View FC head coach Andrew Hines is cautiously confident his team can challenge the reigning champions Montego Bay United in the 2014-15 Red Stripe Premier League season.
Central defender Dicoy Williams has left for Arnett Gardens FC, while leading marksman Brian Brown was loaned to United States Major League Soccer team Philadelphia Union in August and is not expected back until the end of 2014.
On the other hand, Harbour View, the 2012-13 winners, have acquired a number of young players in their quest for a fifth national crown.
“We have some quality players right here. And we may not get quality players all the time, but we try to improve on their individual abilities and get players to a certain standard,” Hines told the Jamaica Observer before a practice session at the Harbour View Stadium on Monday.
“Hopefully we get good results this year to challenge for the championship. I’m not going to look to make any predictions because if I could make accurate predictions I would be a very rich man,” Hines added.
Clyde Jureidini, the club’s general manager, also declined to predict how well the ‘Stars of the East’ could perform, preferring to opt for a wait-and-see approach.
“This season sees a different squad; not the squad of last season. We really have to wait and see how well they do. We are hopeful that senior players will show added leadership and carry the squad forward and that the younger and newer players grab hold of their opportunities and excel throughout the course of the season,” said Jureidini.
Last season, Harbour View started poorly, wallowing in the lower end of the table before finding momentum towards the middle of the campaign. Their form waned towards the closing stages of the season, and though they made it to the last four, they were eliminated at the semi-final stage by Montego Bay.
Admitting to being left disappointed, Hines insisted that players and staff will have to rebound from that failure.
“You have to bounce back in life from all disappointments and we don’t expect to stay in the doldrums. We are just going to pick ourselves up and continue. Some of it was complacency and some of it had to do with the depth of our squad, and that happens from time to time,” the head coach said.