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Phillip Williams said he is aiming to lead Arnett Gardens to back-to-back Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Shield titles in his first challenge as head coach of the Junglists.

Arnett Gardens are set to begin their title-defence campaign in the Club Shield on Sunday, July 27 when they face off against Dominican outfit Dublanc in their opening match of Group D at the Ato Boldon Stadium.

For Williams, it will be his first competitive outing at the helm of the 'Junglists' after he was appointed head coach last month in the wake of Xavier Gilbert's departure.

Despite it still being early days, Williams is hopeful of setting the standard by laying claim to their second-consecutive hold on the Club Shield trophy.

"There is no pressure on us but we're confident. It is not about pressure but it's about our execution." Williams told the WEEKEND STAR.

"So there is no pressure. Our confidence comes from our potential and knowing what we can do. We're looking forward to regaining the title that we would have won last year."

However, Williams is aware the team has seen a disruption to their preparations ahead of the tournament.

The departure of former head coach Gilbert, who joined Montego Bay United after the end of last season's Jamaica Premier League (JPL), and William's subsequent appointment, the team was late in returning to the training pitch.

Added with the loss of several key players, including talisman Kimani Arbouine and Philando Wing, Arnett had to overcome several challenges ahead of the competition's start.

Williams, however, said despite the issues, the team is fully prepared to compete at the regional competition.

"We started a bit late as you'd know, but I think we have made up for lost time seeing that the boys are very committed and enthused about the Club Shield.

"We're fully prepared right now and we're where we want to be at this stage, especially for the Club Shield," he explained.

NEW FORMAT

The Club Shield will depart from its usual knock-out style format and has implemented the Swiss-style group format for this year's competition.

This means, despite being in a group of six teams, Arnett will only face two opponents, Dublanc and AC Port of Spain.

Williams said he has been doing research on Arnett's upcoming opponents but admitted the information may be outdated as much of it came from the clubs' previous seasons.

Despite this, he remains upbeat as he is confident his players can overcome whatever challenge they face along the way.

"The format was explained to the players and the significance of the changes, so now we're taking each game as a final. The objective is to maximise all our chances but the players are ready to play, whether it was this format or the old format," he said.

"The clips we have seen of both teams are from last season so we're really entering only knowing their old track records and trends we have observed. We're not too privy on the knowledge of their current set-up."

He continued, "But we're focused on what we can do. I think that is very important to make the opponents deal with us rather than us focusing on what they can do."

Arnett will face Dublanc on July 27 before closing out their group fixtures against AC Port of Spain on July 29. Both games will be played in host nation Trinidad and Tobago.

Dublanc are the two-time reigning Dominica Premier League champions while AC Port of Spain had finished fourth in the Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL).

The top team from each group will advance to the semi-finals, set for August 1, with the finale set for August 3.

The top two teams from the Club Shield will earn a place in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com