Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer

PAUL 'TEGAT' Davis will continue his rescue mission at Village United today against Arnett Gardens, another team in an unfamiliar and undesirable position at the bottom of the table in the Cash Plus Premier League.

In the little time that he has been in charge, Davis has already led the Trelawny-based team to their first win in the competition, but that in itself has not changed its position much as with 10 points, Village are still five points adrift of their nearest rivals, Arnett Gardens, and firmly rooted in the drop zone.

"Right now, my main focus is trying to motivate the team," Davis, who has lifted Village United, Invaders and Seba United to top-flight football, told The Gleaner ahead of today's clash. "We are down but we are not out. There is still a real chance that we can work our way up the table and survive this relegation fight."

The former national player who is also Village's third head coach for the season after Christopher Russell and Fitzroy 'Johnny' Reid.

Home points

Crucial to Davis's plans of rehabilitation are the maximisation of the points earned at home.

"I think they are coming to grips with the situation right now and what I have been trying to emphasise is the importance of home games. We have to make these games count. Three points for us must be the end result of our home games," he said.

Unlike a number of other teams, Village United have not had much activity in the transfer window, which opened on January 7, but Davis is not giving up.

"We have not really brought anyone in but we have promoted one of our Under-21 players to the senior squad and that is Radcliff Hall, a Cornwall College schoolboy. We are also trying new combinations with the squad that we have," he said.

Arnett Gardens have lost all five of their completed matches for the second round of the competition. The sixth match, played on Wednesday, was aborted by a power cut. That dismal form has run its course, according to coach Max Straw.

"I think most of the issues have been sorted out and we will make another effort to get into the top six of the league and that starts today," said Straw, who added that his charges were well on their way against St. Georges before they experienced the power cut.

OTHER MATCH-UPS

In other games, fifth-placed St. Georges are expected to claim another scalp and record another three points when they host Reno at the feared Lynch Park while a victory for Tivoli Gardens over Sporting Central would see them hang on to the lead.

But for their 1-0 win over neighbours Arnett Gardens, Boys' Town have not really excited in the second round and a win over Waterhouse would be a surprise based on the form of both teams, while Portmore United are expected to continue their revival with a win over August Town playing away at UWI.

Seba United have made some wholesale changes since the transfer window opened in a bid to restart their engine.

Harbour View have regained their footing in the league with the improved performance of the likes of Jermaine Hue, Kavin Bryan and Fabian Taylor. With that being the case, anything more than a point on the road for Seba would be a bonus.

Village United vs Arnett Gardens

at Elliston Wakeland Centre - 3:00 p.m.

St. Georges vs Reno at Lynch Park - 3:00 p.m.

Tivoli Gardens vs Sporting Central

at Edward Seaga Stadium - 5:00 p.m.

Boys' Town vs Waterhouse at Collie Smith Drive - 3:00 p.m.

August Town vs Portmore at UWI - 3:00 p.m.

Harbour View vs Seba United

at Harbour View Mini-Stadium - 6:30 p.m.

Today's games