Santos' goalkeeper Andrew Sewell (partly hidden) misses the ball but Constant Spring fail to capitalise as the ball is headed wide of goal during Saturday's Kingston and St. Andrew Football Association/Jamaica National Super league match at Constant Spring. Just-demoted Constant Spring were walloped 3-0. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

When Constant Spring were relegated from the Wray and Nephew National Premier League (NPL) last season, the general thought was that they would return after one season in the Super League. But that wasn't the plan of Danny Lyn, the club's manager.

"Quite frankly, I really took the year off to concentrate on the stadium ... correcting the stadium, redoing the field, finishing the stands and so forth," said Lyn, moments after his team slumped to a 0-3 defeat to Santos.

"I figured if we direct our attention to the stadium, whenever we are to get a thrust towards the Premier League we will be ready for a Premier League stadium," he explained, as a couple of players lumbered by with their heads held shamefully down.

Constant Spring, a tough and consistent Premier League outfit for many years in the '90s, have found the going tough since the turn of the century.

Relegation

Last season, they finally failed to avoid relegation after pulling off some miraculous efforts to stay afloat over the years. But thoughts of only one season in the Super League were dashed when a number of players departed for greener pastures.

Currently, Constant Spring are second from bottom on seven points in the 12-team competition, ahead of only Barbican on four points.

The thought of even another relegation seems possible for the 20-plus fans who turned up for the game on Saturday.

In fact, one spectator said: "This is the biggest crowd for the season and look how dem a play and run everybody."

"It look like Spring a go spend 20 years in this league," one man shouted.

"We get a life sentence," another bellowed. "Danny get some man cause we nah go a Major League."

But Lyn took their verbal battering in stride. Even when one of his substitutes was being asked to be substituted by the fans, he turned and jokingly said, "Is him unnu waan see."

Then another shouted, "Danny, a better you put on some stage show," to which Lyn responded, "You right."

Lyn's explanation for his team's poor showing was simple.

"What has been happening all along is that we have not been competitive enough because we were not infrastructurally ready. So the next step, we figure, was to get infrastructurally ready. I don't think it will be a 10-year or a one-year."

Last year, Lyn repeatedly voiced his opinion that it is almost impossible (for a small club) to survive in the Premier League, which costs approximately $10-14 million per team a year.

Financing the club

He noted that in the Super League, it is far easier to run the club financially.

Said Lyn: "It is far easier. The travelling alone and that's why I took the season off to invest in the stadium instead of players at this particular time. Because with the infrastructure in place, going back into Premier League, we can start to generate back funds. As it was, we were not able to get sponsors because the place was not ready for that.

"Secondly, to attract players of the highest calibre, we have to have a steady income coming in. What we are doing is putting the infrastructure back in place to get back in the Premier League. I can guarantee you that it won't be long."

As for the fans, Lyn said he knows that they are hurting but none more so than him.

"What happens is that the fans are basically spoiled. Constant Spring was a champion team and now they have come and seen the deterioration and it must be hurting. But I don't think it hurts them as it hurts me.

"But if you look at the broader picture, we must put things in place to attract players by building an environment to attract better income for the players so when we reach Premier League, it is a better situation we will have."

- H.W.