‘Rome was not built in a day’
Craig Butler not deterred by Vere Phoenix’s relegation
Published:Friday | April 25, 2025 | 12:07 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
Craig Butler, technical director of Vere Phoenix United, has called for patience from fans as he reaffirmed his goal of winning the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) title in the future in spite of the team’s relegation this season.
“For the fans of Vere, yes we got relegated. It won’t be the first time that Vere have been relegated but we will come back up and we will make sure we win the league for you. It is a process.”
Butler made the public comments in an impassioned speech he posted on his Instagram page on Wednesday.
Before the start of the season, Vere United and Phoenix All-Stars Academy had announced an ambitious merger which saw Butler overseeing the club’s football activities and development programmes.
Where much was expected in their first season, Vere Phoenix struggled to pick up wins in the league, currently sitting at the foot of the JPL standings with 23 points from 37 games played.
With the club falling out of the top-flight, Butler has sought to accept sole responsibility for their misfortunes.
“For me, I want people to understand very clearly that we took our beatings and I took the beatings,” he said.
“Lenny [Hyde] wasn’t the only person coaching, we made decisions together. The players weren’t the only people on the field, we were with them guiding them – I was with them guiding them, so I’ll take full responsibility.”
Butler, however, insisted that he has not been deterred from his goal of guiding Vere Phoenix to the JPL title.
He said the relegation has only delayed their ambitions and pointed to his work with Mona High where they won the Manning title on their third attempt.
“A lot of people believe that Rome was built in a day, it wasn’t. But it was burnt in a day,” he said.
“I am going to make this very clear, yes, Vere have been relegated from the Premier League. Yes, we have lost many, many games this season. No, I am not in any way humbled by the experience; it is a cycle, it is a path.
“This year we got relegated but there is next year and we’ll come back up, and the next year where the players will be strong enough mentally and physically and understand the league better. We played three years of Manning Cup before we won the league.”
He said while his players had shown their talent, the physicality of the league had proved too wide of a gap for them to close.
“I played this league with 16-year-olds, 17-year-olds and 18-year-olds and maybe three players at the age of 26 and 27,” Butler explained.
“Denzel McKenzie, who just turned 18 years old and able to play another year of Manning Cup if he wanted to, is not going to be a match at this time for a Sue-Lae McCalla physically. So the physicality of the league actually affected them.”
LAUGH NOW
Butler addressed the public criticisms he had received online during the season and said he will not be affected by any ridicule he received at the team’s relegation.
He also sought to thank the club’s supporters who had left their belief in the team’s potential throughout the season.
“I hear a lot of people laughing and happy and all of those thing, it is fine,” he said.
“Any one who wants to attack, any one who wants to laugh, any one who wants to turn up their nose, any one who wants to say yes, great; that’s fine.
“For those who believe in us, thank you for believing in us and not giving up faith ... but we will get to heaven and we will get to the promised land.”