Butler takes third crack at Manning Cup title

WHILE SOME may have thought they had seen the last of Craig Butler on the schoolboy football stage following pronouncements at the end of last season, there has been an about-turn.

Butler’s Mona High School made the semifinal of the ISSA/Manning Cup last year, Butler declaring it his final season. However, speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, the Phoenix Academy coach revealed a change of heart.

“I recognised that it’s not about proving, because I’ve already done that. It’s really now about finishing a path I’ve started with these boys because they now want to win. We’ve retained 16 of our players, lost three and we have others that came in so we want to keep the dynasty going,” said Butler.

Butler, who will enter his third year of coaching the Mona Unit, reached the quarterfinal of the Manning Cup in year one, semifinal in year two and believes those years have taught him enough to really contend for the title this time around.

According to Butler, a European jaunt during the preseason has also given him reason to believe his charges a prepared to go a couple steps better than they did last season.

“First year it was quarterfinal, second year it was semifinal, third year means we should win. Mona are on their preseason tour in Europe, playing against teams like Chelsea, Ajax, Genk, so the level of competition would have been extremely high, so when they come back to the Manning Cup, they should do well against the ‘traditional schools’.”

Butler also believes that for his charges to claim their first-ever Manning Cup title, all players must be on the same page and so he is heartened to see that his system of play has been readily adopted by new players.

“We have to keep our heads together in order to get people to leave us alone. On the football side of it, we are way ahead and I don’t think we need to do anything different other than continue as we are. We build our players so they understand each other better and they know the system. We are a microcosm of what Jamaica and the national team should be, by having a system in place where when you bring in new people, they fit into the system versus just trying to recruit the best,” he said.

Heading into what is expected to be another intriguing season, Butler is of the belief that Mona should be considered title favourites.

“You have quality, longevity and a system at Mona and you have the best coach in the country, so I think we should win easily.”

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com