Small

August Town's manager, Marlon Small, hopes lessons learnt in their previous stint in the Premier League will aid the club's ambition of gaining longevity in local football's top-tier football competition.

Having retained the core of a competitive team, August Town were always odds-on favourites to return to the league after being relegated ahead of last season. Now having achieved that goal, they hope to avoid making some of the same mistakes they did the last time.

"It takes a lot of organisation to survive in the Premier League. This time around, we definitely need to pay more attention to certain details like player management and professionalism," Small told The Gleaner.

Super League

Promoted from the Super League in the 2006-07 season, the eastern St Andrew team not only survived, but finished mid-table in sixth place, following an impressive late-season run. That kind of impressive form was shortlived as the team found themselves at the foot of the table and out of top-flight the following year.

However, after only one season back in the Super League, the club secured their return to big time and this time around, they are determined to make it a longer shift.

"Every team that comes to the Premier League hopes it's for a long time," Small said.

"The fact of the matter is that there is hardly any football outside of the Premier League from the point of view of exposure or profitability," he added.

But a harsh reality is that promoted clubs often find it difficult to thrive in the top flight, not only due to financial constraints, but also organisational capability.

An average Premier League club can cost anywhere between $8-10 million to run per season, with a vast majority of that amount going into the club's wage bill.

Small has pinpointed management of the club's resources as key to their continued survival this time around.

"In this economic climate, things are going to be tough financially, but they are tough for everyone, so we have to make do with what we have available."

Encouraged by a solid pre-season showing in the KSAFA Champions League, which saw them beating Premier League champions Tivoli, before narrowly losing to Waterhouse in the semi-final, August Town will open their season against league runner-ups Portmore United this Sunday.