Maxwell has that 'special' feeling

Audley Boyd, Associate Editor - Sports

LIKE Inter Milan's coach, Waterhouse Football Club's Geoffrey Maxwell is labelling himself the 'Special One'.

This follows Waterhouse's recovery from a horrible start - in which they lost their first five matches - to place third in the Digicel Premier League.

That position was further cemented with a 6-1 hammering of St Georges Sports Club in their final match of the season, at Waterhouse Mini Stadium on Sunday.

Veteran striker Kevin Lamey (26th, 28th, 39th, 49th, 70th) hammered in all of five goals, which enabled him to finish joint leading scorer, on 18 goals, with Rivoli's Devon Hodges. Waterhouse's other goal was accounted for by St Georges defender, Jermaine Taylor, at the 22nd minute, while Damion Harwood (44th), netted for the Portland team.

The win left the Drewsland team on 60 points, six adrift Tivoli Gardens and 10 ahead of fourth-place St Georges. Harbour View won with a whopping 77 points.

"To come back from losing the first five games and finishing third, it's exceptional.

That is not only the players, it's also coaching," said Maxwell.

"So I suppose like Jose Mourinho, I could also be called Jamaica's 'Special One'.

"I consider myself special. Just like Jose Mourinho, I am a 'Special One'.

Mourinho dubbed himself the 'Special One' while at English Premiership club, Chelsea. He led them to two Premier League titles. Mourinho also led Portuguese team Porto to the Champions League title, and besides winning the Italian League (La Liga) with Inter Milan, he will lead them into Saturday's Champions League final against German champions Bayern Munich. Both teams are chasing the treble, having won the league and cup double in their respective domestic competitions.

Disappointing finish

Maxwell's achievements are not quite as lofty. A former national coach, he transformed Waterhouse from Major League to Premier League champions, winning a number of knockout competitions along the way.

Last season marked his second coming at Waterhouse, and in spite of their resurgence and strong form towards the end of the campaign, Maxwell calls the finish "disappointing".

"My overall thinking, with regards to Waterhouse finishing third in the season, is I felt disappointed," he remarked. "After the first two rounds ... especially in round two, I thought we could have won the premier league."

Then, they secured 26 of a possible 33 points, winning eight games and drawing twice.

"In the last game of the season we really showed a lot of what could've been done throughout the season," noted Maxwell.

"Last season, our pre-season preparation was terrible, so this year, we cannot afford to go back the same route," he pointed out. "There are meetings and plans afoot to ensure that this does not happen. Last year, we started training only two weeks before the competition and that is the reason why we started so badly."

He expects players from their Under-21 squad, which finished second, as well as "possibly two or three players from other clubs", to strengthen their bid.

"There are a lot of possibilities in this group who will feature in the coming season, but a word of warning: 'let's not get carried away'," said Maxwell.

DeAndre Brown, Kemar Josephs, Kenardo Forbes, Adrian King, Andre Clennon, Stephen Williams and goalkeeper Kelso Cousins are some of the brighter prospects being looked at by Maxwell, who says they could go all the way in the 2010-11 campaign.

He said: "As far as the coming season is concerned, I think with a few additions we have the potential to win the Premier League."

Imagine if they did. Now, that would be special.