Police aim to change Pro League fortunes

“Not only the players felt disappointed, but the entire Police Service,” said the ex-Strike Squad defender, in a story on the Pro League website.

“We would count ourselves title contender,” he continued. “The players promised me as coach, to bring home at least two titles this season. They (the players) want the League title. They want to qualify for the CFU (Caribbean Football Union) Club Championship and that’s something they want for themselves.”

This may sound like wishful thinking as Police struggled at the bottom half of the standings throughout the 2010-2011 season, as they finished ninth in the 10-team contest.

The previous season (2009), Police were rooted at the foot of the table.

Jones, who replaced player/coach Anthony Marshall during the 2010-2011 season, stated, “we are really trying to turn things around (this season). The public must understand that we are police officers first and the duties of the service come first.

“When I took over late last season, we had enough time to put things in place and I think the team we have now is well balanced. We also have some promising players in the academy and I expect them to be part

of the team during the season.”

Defensive midfielder Anton Hutchinson has been the team’s only off-season addition, joining from San Juan Jabloteh, and he will be one of the keys to the squad’s success — as well as Sayid Freitas, Randy Harris, Kheon Archie, Jason Boodram, Kaaron Foster, Todd Ryan and captain Noel Williams. Jones explained that a major difference this season is his team’s pre-season preparation.

“We had the psychologist came in and work with the players,” he said. “We focussed more on the attitude of players and we had enough time to pound it in.

“We also worked on the strength work of the players. We had enough time to do a lot of preparation unlike the last two seasons. Trainer Chris Bailey who works with the national women’s teams has been doing a fantastic job in getting the players in physical form together with trainer Brian Kennedy,” ended Jones.