Ma Pau eye top spot in Pro league

The ex-Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper made this declaration at a media briefing yesterday, at the Sweet Lime Restaurant, Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook.

The club introduced its new recruits, as well as some re-signed players from the 2009 season, to the media and McComie noted that, “the expectations with the players, especially with the Pro team in particular, we wanted to be competitive last year and we accomplished that.

“This year, the expectation is a lot higher because of the investments into the Pro team - the players and the personnel that we brought in,” he added. “We think that the players we have here, at their fullest potential, it’s a frightening thought so to speak, but we do expect to be in the first two.”

The club brought in nine players during the off-season - Alejandro Figueroa, Keyeno Thomas and Seon Power (from Joe Public), Joel Russell, Elton John, Lester Peltier and Devon Jamerson (from San Juan Jabloteh), Cyd Gray (from United Petrotrin) and Shane Calderon (from Valtrin United in the Eastern Football Association).

Ma Pau also offered full-time contracts to a pair of Trinidad and Tobago Under-20 players, defender Mekeil Williams and midfielder Kevin Molino, who were loaned from Jabloteh in 2009.

“As a coach, realistically I think with the talent that we have here, if we’re not in the first two, then it will be very disappointing,” McComie stated. “The advantage that we have is that we don’t have to speak that to the players, we don’t have to get that into the players’ head.”

McComie, who took over the role as Ma Pau coach last year, continued, “they’re competitive players and they’re winners. So I know they’re coming here expecting to do nothing else but win.

“As a coach, I have to be careful with that, how they think, and it’s important that they don’t become over-confident but stay focussed.”

This is the first time in recent footballing history that a top-flight club signed a huge number of players during an off-season, and McComie acknowledged the role that his assistant coach Angus Eve played in recruiting the new members of the club.

“What you saw (yesterday morning) is months and months of work,” said McComie. “People will think that we signed them last week but it has been months of work.

“Our belief at Ma Pau is that our programme must sell itself,” said the former national Under-23 and Joe Public coach. “Players must want to come to the club and I think that’s exactly what happened. It’s an ambitious club and, to be an ambitious club, you must hire young ambitious players with a new way of thinking.”

A major talking point, concerning the new recruits, is the fact that the players either left Pro League winning clubs (Joe Public is the 2009 League champs) and/or achieved title successes in various times of their career, to join a club which entered the League in 2008.

“The attraction for them really is the programme,” said McComie. “They knew where the team was, they knew where the individual players on the team were and where they are now.

“Young players, they want challenges and here at Ma Pau, we offer that challenge to them, because one thing they are sure about is that it’s not going to be easy,” he added. “That’s the first thing we told them when we tried to bring them across.

“I don’t want a player coming here thinking this is it all. We want hungry players in terms of hungry for success. I think these players here represent that. Having said so, once we get them to gel and work together as a family, it’s a frightening prospect to play against us.”

The team’s pre-season training will kick off next Monday while there will be tours of Panama and Colombia in March.

Concerning the planning of the Latin America trip, McComie noted, “it was organised and the idea came up when we got interest from Colombia, from a coach, and we were able to send footage, two DVDs, with players that we thought will interest him.

“Luckily for us, having seen the footage, he became interested in one more player. At that point we thought if we carry the team, it augurs well for us and the players,” he ended.