No new transfers for Den Amstel FC

Sep 01, 2020 Sports

Current squad can compete says Coach Heywood

Head Coach of the Den Amstel FC, O’Neal Heywood, during an exclusive interview with Kaieteur Sport has revealed that his club, which finished in the runners-up position of the last completed season of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League, didn’t do any business in the recently closed transfer window.

Coach O’Neal Heywood

Coach O’Neal Heywood (far left) talks to his players during halftime at a previous match.

O’Neal highlighted two reasons for the club’s inactivity during the window.
First he explained that although five of his best players in prolific forward Delon Lanferman, Kevin Dundas, Kester Jacobs, Marvin Frank and Malcolm Miggins have now switched to city side Santos FC, he believes that Den Amstel FC can still compete and this was evident with their quarter-final run in the GFF Super-16 yearend knockout tournament last year.
He posited that, “We also lost Anthony Benn and Ruben Dainty, two players with loads of potential but we still have a decent squad that will be able to match skills with anyone on any given team.”
Heywood’s second reason for the lax behaviour during the transfer period by the West Demerara side is due to the fact that he is certain that there won’t be any competitive football played for the rest of the year.
He highlighted that even during normal circumstances it’s tough to run off a football tournament in Guyana and the pandemic will not help. In addition, with the 6am-6pm curfew resuming for the entire month of September due to the rising cases locally, it is an ominous sign for the return to play.
Heywood indicated that since the lockdown in March, one of the toughest things to do has been motivating players to stay fit and patient, something that he credited Coach Bilall Nantambu in being very dedicated and excellent in doing. (Calvin Chapman)