Humble Lion president optimistic despite slow start

Humble Lion’s start to the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) season is far from what club president Christopher Jackson may have anticipated, following a 3-0 defeat to Tivoli Gardens on the opening day and a 5-0 loss to Waterhouse on Monday.

Nevertheless, the young executive remains confident that the club will come good this season because of a new approach to its operations.

A former player and native of the community, Jackson was called on to oversee the club’s operations after the team was relegated from the JPL in the 2024-25 season.

Jackson, who holds a master’s degree in business management, pointed out that after being appointed, he revisited a strategic plan he had prepared for the club before its relegation.

However, rebuilding the club without adequate resources has made the task considerably more challenging. Still, he believes the new structure and approach will eventually produce positive results.

“It was tough falling out of the Premier League, after so long, and then losing all the support and resources we would have had, based on who was in charge before. But Humble Lion didn’t evolve while the league evolved and that’s why Humble Lion struggled.

“So the vision myself and the team came in with was to be as organised as possible. We knew before taking up the charge and playing in the Championship (Tier II) to return to Premier League that it is not the clubs with the most resources that are successful but really the clubs that are more organised.

“So that was the area we focused on, being organised, and it turned out that it was the right approach,” he said.

The restructuring process included putting the club’s accounts in order and updating outdated documents.

The club also made significant changes to its recruitment policy, placing greater emphasis on youth development and reducing its reliance on veteran players.

That approach proved successful in Tier II, and Jackson believes it can yield similar results in the JPL.

“We are looking at the future, and we can’t retain old players who are just looking [for] a payday.

“We understood that in order to compete successfully in the league, you have to have the right attitude and mindset, and players have to be driven to do well individually and as a team and present themselves when an opportunity comes to advance to a higher level.”

However, pursuing those ambitions without sufficient resources has kept Jackson and his team working around the clock. Another challenge has emerged with Professional Football Jamaica Limited no longer providing clubs with a sponsor.

“Throughout Tier II, we approached a lot of businesses and individuals who have given us a little thing here and there, but we are yet to have a title sponsor, and it is because of the stigma around Humble Lion.

“They say Humble Lion have money because of the minister, Mike Henry, who usually runs the club. Now the minister is not a part of the club, we do not have that luxury, in terms of resources. So it was very difficult.

“For the Premier League, we still haven’t land a title sponsor. We remain hopeful. We have written a lot of proposals. It is just for us to get the audience to pitch this proposal to sponsors we would have identified,” he said.

“It now becomes a competition all around as there are 14 clubs now, basically, hunting for the same sponsors.”

Despite the team’s difficult start to the season, Jackson believes that the campaign will eventually bear fruit.

While Humble Lion have an inexperienced coach in Davian Meggo, Jackson believes that that could work in the club’s favour.

He pointed out that many coaches in the league are recycled, along with their tactics, and said having someone relatively unknown in Meggo provides an advantage.

“Experience is relative. With this coach, who is very talented and knowledgeable, I know what to look for.

“It doesn’t matter how much experience you have. It is the amount of work you put in as a coach.

“Most of the coaches in the league have been there for a while, and their strategies haven’t changed much, so they are kind of predictable.

“They do not know his strategy and his playing style, so I think this young coach really has an advantage,” he said.

He added that remaining in the league is the club’s top priority and that by the end of the season, he wants the team to have a clear identity in terms of its style of play.

“When a team comes to play, they will know Humble Lion play in a particular way, and they will have to do the adjustment. So I want us to be remembered as a team with a specific identity.”

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com