Montego Bay United’s (MBU’s) coach Carlos Aitor Garcia Sanz does not think his unfamiliarity with Jamaica’s club football will be a hindrance when he leads the team’s defence of their Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) title, starting next month.

The Spaniard, who joined the club about a month ago from the Barcelona leagues where he made a name for himself through the youth systems, said he has been getting to know the teams and players by following the league since February.

Additionally, he said no matter where the game is being played, “football is football everywhere, so I just want to see what a team repeats in games so I can combat it”.

Garcia Sanz will be the fifth coach and second foreigner to take charge of the team, which is in its fourth year in the top league. He told the Sunday Observer he had been making preparations ever since he heard about the opportunity to take the job in February.

“I have been doing homework,” he said. “I have watched Waterhouse in their CONCACAF game in Panama, seen the four matches the national team played before the World Cup Finals, and I had a chance to see some of the local players. I also saw the semis and finals of Premier League, so I have an idea what to expect when we start playing,” he said in a recent interview.

The former coach at DAV Santa Anna said his newness to the system could be a plus for MBU. “Each time someone new comes to a place he usually has new ideas, so it is always good for both of us as we both learn, good for me to be here.”

Taking over a team that is coming off a championship will have its share of problems, but he welcomes them. “I am very ambitious and if the team was fifth last year instead of first, I would put the same effort into the work.”

Success is important, he said, but he won’t rush the team too quickly, either. “I want to achieve from the first day and I expect the same from the players and we are trying not to look back, but to focus on the next day, try to be better each training session, better each day. I want to be a better coach today than I was yesterday and I want the players to have that mentality as well.”

Already he is looking further than the RSPL as their success will open the doors to playing in the Caribbean Football Union and ultimately the CONCACAF club competitions. “It is ambition, not pressure,” he declared.