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New Montego Bay United coach Javier Ainstein said, despite Jamaica’s culture of transitional play and direct football, he hopes to instil a different style at Montego Bay United (MBU), one which will focus on positional play, possession and attacking football.He believes he already has a solid base at Montego Bay United, which he noted is only one of two teams in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) that try to play a possession-based game.“I know about the culture of Jamaican football, about transition and direct play, but, in the region and other countries, they are growing, playing another type of football.“Suriname, who were so close to the World Cup, and Curacao, are playing another type of football, but Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, with the idea of old British football and direct play and transition, in the last year (internationally) weren’t good and I believe that, here on the island, Montego Bay and Mount Pleasant are trying to play another football with positional play, trying to build from the back,” Ainstein said.He declared that he remains respectful of the culture of football in Jamaica but he said the style of play Montego Bay had under Xavier Gilbert last season will make his job much easier. He said his main focus in the pre-season will be on solidifying their defensive structure.“Montego Bay with Xavier played very offensive and they had a solid structure. At the end, Montego Bay didn’t get to the final because of two set-pieces, scored by Cavalier. It wasn’t about the play. It was set-pieces. You can win or lose from set-pieces, but I am talking about style of play. “I believe Montego Bay played so good, so my focus is on the defence. The defensive transition and defending set-pieces.“In the first leg (semi-final against Cavalier), Montego Bay won with one set-piece goal, a corner. So you won with a set-piece and you lose with two set-pieces, but I believe here we have players with good feet.”The Panama-based Argentinean admitted that, when he took up the challenge of coaching in Jamaica he never anticipated the quality of the players in the region would be so high, and that they will continue to recruit regionally and locally to bolster the squad. “Last season, the club announced two players from St Lucia and we are waiting for them to finish some issues. They are also two top players from the JPL that are coming here. I am happy Xavier (Gilbert), Yoni (Epstein) and Dr (Germaine) Spencer, are trying to make the best roster for us.”“Xavier is a person with knowledge, he knows the league and the players. I value coaches for the things I see on the field, and Arnett Gardens, when he was coach, was a top team here and in the Caribbean, and Montego Bay was a top team with possession and a good attacking play and, for me, it is good to work with people who know about football,” he continued.He added that the aim is to reach the JPL final, playing a different style of football.“The objective is to get to the final. The season here is so long and we need to be consistent and start on the right foot. I always try to make a team with good possession, a good build-up, but we need to be secure at the back. We need to make the clean sheets.“Portmore and Cavalier got to the final because they are teams that do well to get the clean sheets in the top match,” he said.
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