By Neto Baptiste
Coach of the Sandals, Inet Grenades FC, Derrick Edwards, believes he now has the correct combination of players to get the job done in the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association’s Premier Division.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Edwards said he is even more encouraged by the start the team has had in the 2019/20 league, winning three and drawing one of their four matches to date.
“I put a team together that I know could compete and win the championship so we expected to do well because after you put a team like that together then you expect to go out and win games. We are not going to get complacent, we have to take one game at a time and this is a competition where every team comes out every weekend and they come out to win, so you can’t lower your standard to the other teams below you; you have to play at a higher level,” he said.
Grenades are currently at the top of the standings with 10 points, three ahead of Greenbay Hoppers, Five Islands and All Saints United. However, it is still early days with more than 75 percent of the league still left to be played.
Edwards, although confident, is not naïve, stating that his team will face numerous challenges on their way to what he hopes will be their first top flight title.
“We’re not perfect, the players are not perfect and you have to understand that sometimes you’ll come and you’ll play a horrible game and you’ll get three points. I think that we didn’t have a great game on Saturday but we came out on top and that’s the most important thing,” the former national coach said. Grenades captured the ABFA’s President’s Cup in 2016/17, one year before they captured the FA’s Champions League. However, the Jennings-based team is yet to lift the Premier Division title.