By Adrian Frater, Staff Reporter
New Coach of Reno F.C. Geoffrey Maxwell (standing) addressing members of the team at an official ceremony to welcome him to the club on Monday. At left is club president Owen 'Bones' Cunningham while at right is the team's technical director, Wendell Downswell. - Adrian Frater Photo
WESTERN BUREAU:
FORMER NATIONAL coach Geoffrey Maxwell, who left Village United under controversial circumstances after guiding them to last season's J. Wray & Nephew NPL semi-finals, will be the new man in charge at Reno F.C, for the 2003-2004 season.
"I think Reno is a good choice for me and I intend to bring hard work, dedication and success to the team," said Maxwell, while addressing club officials, players, the Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar and members of the media at an official ceremony to welcome him to the club on Monday. "I am not promising that the team will win the league but I can promise that they will be playing good football."
EXTREMELY PLEASED
In welcoming Maxwell to Savanna-la-Mar the hometown of the Reno Club, the town's Mayor, Councillor Delford Morgan, said he was extremely pleased that the club had recruited a coach of the experience and knowledge of Maxwell. According to him, he has always been an admirer of Maxwell's coaching skills and his penchant for discipline.
"Reno is more than just a football club, it is an organisation that is synonymous with the success of this parish," said Mayor Morgan, in delving briefly into the background of the club, which has won three national titles in its near 30-year history. "We believe that with Mr. Maxwell here, he will help to re-energise the club as we seek to return to the glory days."
UNITED AND READY FOR SUCCESS
According to club president, Owen 'Bones' Cunningham, with the internal rift which plagued the club last season, now a thing of the past, a club that is now united and ready for success was embracing Maxwell. In regards to funding, which was also a problem last year, he said that matter was now being addressed.
"We are looking at a $10 million budget for the season but we believe we have the mechanism in place to generate the funds," said Cunningham, who is a foundation member of the club. "We will also be looking at creative ways to market the club, as well as ways of getting the full support of the business community."
In cataloguing Maxwell's success and suitability, Wendell Downswell, the team's technical director, spoke glowingly of Maxwell's success as a player for Santos F.C. and Jamaica in the 1970s and as a coach, guiding Excelsior High School and Waterhouse to championships at the schoolboy and NPL levels respectively.
SIGNING A HISTORICAL EVENT
"Coach Maxwell knows what it is like to be successful," said Downswell. "His coming to Reno is like a champion meeting champion. We see this signing as an historical event as we believe it is the dawning of a new era in Reno F.C., Westmoreland and western Jamaica's football."
Maxwell, who left the welcome ceremony and headed straight to the team's training ground for his first training session with the team, said his first task will be to ignite a new sense of professionalism in the players by getting them to appreciate the fact that success will only come through discipline and hard work.
