It is unfortunate for Jonte Smith that his manager, Richie Barker, is leaving Crawley Town with immediate effect.

It must surely be a shock to not only him, but the team as well.

A manager that you are familiar with and has given you support throughout your career is a very good thing, and to lose him will not be easy on the players.

To get your coach’s respect and faith, and for him to allow you to do your thing on the field is great, so it will be interesting to see how the next manager comes in and shakes things up.

Everyone knows that the buck stops with the coach; at the end of the day he will be the one who gets the sacking. You can’t let it affect you, however, and you must keep on striving for the top of the ladder.

Zeiko Lewis being awarded with the Freshman of the Year award for Boston College in the Atlantic Coastal Conference is a huge thing for both the school and himself.

He is the first to garner the award from the school, and it is a testament to his fight and dedication to something that he loves.

It was not that long ago that he was doing trials at Fulham and then went to the United States to both play and to gain an education, which is great to see.

There is so much talent in Bermuda, but talent alone does not get you to the top. There are other traits that are required to be in the mix, including attitude, mentality and things of that nature.

Our players can dribble for days, but it’s the ability to know when to dribble that is what separates him from a lot of his counterparts.

Football only lasts for a brief period of your life, while the education is permanent.

One thing that is a setback, and people fail to realise how the countries in our region have opened a big gap on us, is our domestic league.

The MLS and the Mexican leagues are miles better than our top league, and the only way to get better is to leave home to play in leagues where you are not the best and romping over people every weekend.

Players have to remember that they are entertainers and if I pay $10, I expect to be entertained or get my money back!

This is what they have to realise first and foremost, and from there we can build a base.

On the international scene, Tottenham Hotspur have it all to do this weekend when Manchester United come knocking on their door at White Hart Lane off the back of the 6-0 thrashing that Spurs received away to Manchester City last weekend.

They were thoroughly outplayed and will be looking to set the record straight and get back to winning ways.

They do not have a bad side, but will take a while to gel with all the new signings that Andre Villas-Boas has made. There is no better time then to welcome the champions to your patch of grass and give them a right go of things.