March 8, 2013 at 3:08 p.m.
Cougars boss Brown: Don't believe the hype
The table-toppers know a win tonight over St George’s coupled with North Village Rams failing to beat Somerset Trojans on Sunday will secure their fourth top-flight title.
But Brown is refusing to pop the champagne corks just yet and made it clear his team will treat second-bottom Colts with the utmost respect.
He said: “We won’t be drawn into becoming complacent at this stage. As a player I have been in this position five times and won the league so I am reminding my team to keep focused and take one opponent at a time.
“Don’t be caught by all the hype because it can come back to bite you if you are not careful.”
He added: “The job must get done before anything else and we are not even thinking about [winning the title] without giving St. George’s all the respect that an opponent deserves.
“If we take any other approach then we are asking for a little bit of trouble.
“The marathon is almost done and we are in a good position but we must not take our eye off the grand prize.”
Brown does admit, though, that Cougars are on the brink of “something special” and puts the team’s improvement down to intensive training sessions and a more clinical approach on match day.
He said: “One of the things I wanted to improve the team on this season was our overall consistency and efficiency both offensively and defensively.
“They have really improved defensively as a unit and offensively we are much more clinical than last season in front of goal.
“We also always have good numbers in training sessions and the demands placed on them in training is what is expected in the matches.
“We will never go into any game thinking that it will be a walk in the park because with those thoughts comes a lot of frustration and in most cases a bad result.
“I, as the coach, have the responsibility to ensure that the players don’t become complacent and that starts from the sessions leading up to the match.
“We will not take St. George’s lightly at all because they have a few guys in their team who can hurt us if we turn off.”
Digicel Premier League standings
| Pos/Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 Cougars | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 34 |
| 2 Rams | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 28 |
| 3 Hornets | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 25 |
| 4 PHC | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 24 |
| 5 Trojans | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 23 |
| 6 Rangers | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 22 |
| 7 Wolves | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | -6 | 21 |
| 8 Onions | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | -10 | 17 |
| 9 St George’s | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | -15 | 8 |
| 10 Robin Hood | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | -19 | 8 |
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