‘Teddy’ coming back for another season

Tivoli Gardens' head coach Phillip Williams said veteran midfielder Jermaine 'Teddy' Johnson is still a part of his plans for the upcoming 2019-20 Red Stripe Premier League season, despite his age.

The 39-year-old, who is a former national player, netted six goals for the west Kingston-based club last season, as they failed to secure a spot in the play-offs of the competition.

However, Williams, who took charge of the club in February after the departure of Omar Edwards, told STAR Sports that the veteran player still possesses the right qualities and skills to lead the team into the next season.

"Teddy is the senior most player that we have here on roster and in the last couple of games, at the back end of last season, he really showed that he has some amount of football left in him," said Williams.

"I think that if he is fit and able to play with his experience and his leadership quality, it will serve us well into the next season."

He underlined that the young players in the squad look up to Johnson for guidance and motivation throughout the season and, therefore, the former Bolton Wanderers player will be an asset to the team.

"He will definitely be a part of our squad, and we are looking to having him here next season," Williams stated.

"He is one that the rest of team members look up to and draw influence from his experience and his talent and, therefore, he will be an asset to the team."

Johnson has battled a series of injuries over the past couple seasons, including a knee injury, which kept him out of action most of last season.

Williams noted that Johnson has shown himself to be a craft-customer in his day and, therefore, he will have a major role to play in the team next season.

"Once Teddy is fit, he has proven to be a very dangerous player in this league and so it doesn't matter his age, because he has proven to be a very tough player to deal with as a lot defence still fear him," said Williams.