By Neto Baptiste
Despite his team’s noteworthy showing in the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier Division so far this season, coach of the defending champions All Saints United FC and former national player, Schyan Jeffers, said he is hoping to add some depth during the January transfer window.
“Most likely you cannot win a championship without having depth in your squad and that’s going to be my problem this season but I am trying to solve it by the transfer window. I mean like more quality players who can come off the bench and keep the engine running, keep the game playing in the way it should be and to be an impact player off the bench. If you watch my players, I mostly deal with versatile players and players who can play in numerous positions and so I am looking to cover all areas in terms of players who can play numerous positions,” he said.
Jeffers’ statement follows on the heels of his team’s six-nil trouncing of Greenbay Hoppers at the FA’s Technical Center on Saturday, which saw them climb to the top of the standings.
The senior men’s national coach said that if his All Saints United is to go the length and breath of the competition against the likes of Grenades and others, they must have the manpower to get the job done.
“This is going to be a close race at the end of the season because if you watch the competition, it is a very good competition. We have grenades who are right at the top of the table and they just came from the champions league [Concacaf Caribbean Cup] so they have been training all season to prepare. Garden Stars, they are a young team, an impressive team and they have a good future ahead of them and they are playing good football so I have to be mindful of that as well,” Jeffers said.
United currently sits at the top of the standings with 22 points from eight showings, two points more than Grenades FC and Garden Stars FC who both have 20 points.
United won the 2023/24 Premier Division title on goal-difference after ending the competition on level teams with Grenades FC, both teams tallying 49 points following the final round of matches.
It was however the men from All Saints who came out on top due to their positive 55 goal difference, seven more than Grenades who ended with a positive 48 goal difference.
