Williams confirms Tivoli Gardens exit

Tivoli Gardens Football Club head coach Philip Williams has confirmed his departure from the west Kingston club.

Williams told THE WEEKEND STAR that he has handed in his letter of resignation and has no intention of retracting his decision, even though it has not been officially accepted by the club.

Williams has been missing from the Tivoli bench for the last two matches, leading to speculation of his exit.

Technical director Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey, who has been managing the team from the sidelines during his absence, said earlier this week that Williams, who also coaches St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), had asked for time off to tend to personal matters and would be returning to the dugout soon. However, Williams says otherwise.

"I am not there," Williams said. "I have sent in my letter of resignation. Myself and the management are good. I don't think they want to see me go, so they haven't accepted it but I have made up my mind.

"I will not go into any details why I've resigned, but it is official from my end. I need some self-introspection. I want to see if I need to recalibrate in terms of the direction I want to go and if I want to be going in this direction.

"I have no intention to take it back. I don't make hasty decisions, any decision I make is something that I normally take time to think about.

"So it is a matter of recalibrating and finding something that is more to what I really want to be doing."

Williams, who has taken STATHS to two Manning Cup finals, led Tivoli to third place in the Jamaica Premier League last season, which he has described as a high point in his career.

He says he is grateful for the opportunity the club gave him to coach at what he considers the highest level, and the experience he gained during his time there.

"Tivoli is the first club I coached at the Premier League level, so I have a lot of respect for them," he said. "There are a lot of things that I learned, especially how to function and coach at the highest level.

"Finishing third in the Premier League last season is a high point for myself.

"A number of youngsters from, Tivoli, Saint Andrew Technical, Kingston College, got their first experience playing at that level, that is some of the proudest moments for me.

"I love the game. I love coaching, so I definitely will be back in the Premier League if an opportunity presents itself that has all the elements that I want."

Williams was put in charge of Tivoli Gardens at the start of the 2019-20 season.