Ainsley Walters, Freelance Writer

( L - R ) Lenworth Hyde, Donovan Duckie - File photos

IN A twist of fate, Lenny Hyde and Donovan Duckie, local coaches drafted as assistants to technical director Rene Simoes in the national programme, have been fired by their respective Premier League clubs, Harbour View and St Georges of Portland.

Hyde, a former schoolboy and Jamaican international star, who won five trophies at Harbour View in under a year and a half as coach, was sent packing by the dethroned Premier League champions on Monday night, getting his marching orders via a telephone call from chairman Carvel Stewart.

Meanwhile, Duckie, who took St Georges to the Premier League this season and moulded the club as one of the most deadly home sides in the league, was relieved of his duties at Lynch Park last Friday, also via telephone.

Heart-rending decision

Everton King, president of St Georges, told The Gleaner that firing Duckie was heart-rending, but he had a commitment to the people of Portland as the young coach, with whom he shared and achieved the dream of getting the parish back in the premiership, had started neglecting his job in favour of his duties with the national Under-20s.

King said he believed it was a direct result of Duckie's change of focus that caused St Georges to lose out on a place to play among the top six teams in the fourth round of the Premier League.

St Georges were edged out of sixth spot, on head-to-head meetings, by another promoted team, Sporting Central of Clarendon, and will now play the final five games among the bottom six teams to avoid relegation.

'Missed training sessions'

King said it was most obvious during last Wednesday's decisive match, the final game of the third round, against Tivoli, when St Georges were among four teams in with a shot at grabbing sixth place.

"He came for the 3:30 game at 3:00 with the national Under-20 team, while the guys were warming up," said King. "Things started getting unacceptable. The team did not seem to be motivated as a result of him not being around as often as we would like. He missed training sessions, which, he, himself, scheduled.

"We didn't know what was happening. It appeared as if his focus was mostly on the youth team he was training. Plus, the comments he made after not making the top six. Basically, we figured he was saying the team couldn't go any further. If the coach is saying that, what frame of mind does he put the players into for the fourth round?"

Players 'let down'

St Georges started the third round with a bang, beating defending champions Harbour View 2-0 away, their first road win of the season, but notched just only one other win for the round.

"It was as if he had gone on to bigger things," said King. "The players started feeling let down. We have made a lot of sacrifices, getting to that critical juncture and when everybody was pressing for sixth spot, we did not see the drive to push us there," he said.

Duckie, who could not be reached by telephone yesterday, has been replaced by Geoffrey Maxwell, who St Georges hope, will keep them out of relegation trouble as they are on 39 points, five above next-to-last August Town on 34 with Reno trailing on 33.

"We don't want to leave it to chance," said King, adding that Maxwell has been contracted for the fourth round and the door is always open to Duckie to return to St Georges, but under contractual agreement.

'Should have left earlier'

Meanwhile, Hyde has not taken his sacking lightly at Harbour View.

"It's my fault, I should have left a long time ago," Hyde said. "For the Sporting Central game, when we won 3-0, when 'Daddy' (chairman Carvel Stewart) picked the team and the same team was used against August Town, when we had to come from behind to draw 2-2, everybody was saying I should have left from then but I tried fighting with it and took the players into consideration.

"I got a phone call last night, saying the board met and I am no longer required and that Harold, my assistant, would be taking over. I was not given a reason after winning five Cups in a year and a half and lying fourth this season due to a lot of indiscipline."

Hyde, who took over from Donovan Hayles, who failed miserably two seasons ago when Harbour View threw a 13-point lead in the standings and were at the end comfortably beaten by Waterhouse, believed players and some board members were undermining him.

"I don't like how it was done. On two occasions, players went to management, saying I should be fired and you also have people on the board saying the same thing. "They are the main ones."

He pointed out that since the late Peter Cargill left Harbour View, he (Hyde) had been the most successful coach at the club, winning the Premier League, two Jackie Bell knockouts, the Caribbean Club Championship and the pre-season President's Cup.

"The time I have, I'll spend with the national programme, gaining some knowledge from Simoes," said Hyde, commenting on whether he would be available for other clubs.

Inconsistent performance

Meanwhile, Harbour View's general manager, Clyde Jureidini, said the club had been inconsistent in the Premier League and did not perform well in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, where they were crushed 5-0 by DC United in Washington after drawing the first leg 1-1 at home.

Jureidini also said the club didn't believe Hyde was capable of guiding the outfit through its projected short- and long-term goals.

"We're looking at two things, the first of which is to finish round four and what Harold Thomas brings to the table to end the season in terms of performance. We will soon start a new season but before that, there is the new CONCACAF Champions League, which starts in August," he pointed out.

"We are looking at how to prepare for the new season and how to go forward. We had expectations of Lenny as the head coach but we are looking at a way to go forward, locally and internationally. He did well during his tenure, but we're looking at how to go forward and with whom."

Unimpressive record

Thomas, who has coached at Premier League level with Rivoli and Waterhouse, does not have an impressive track record, but has been retained for the fourth round by Harbour View, who qualified for the 24-team CONCACAF Champions League by being winners of the Caribbean Club Championship.

Jureidini, responding to Hyde's allegations of interference from management, was reluctant to comment.

"I wouldn't want to comment on anything Lenny has said. He's free to make any comment. I don't want to field a response. Some are correct and some woefully incorrect."