Dwayne “Streaker” Adams, a former North Village and Bermuda goalkeeper, is up to the challenge of reviving Southampton Rangers after an exodus of players in the summer.

Adams, who coached North Village after a playing stint at Rangers in 2003, was confirmed by club president Chanjiv Simons as the replacement Jomar Wilkinson, now with Somerset Trojans. Adams takes over a Rangers team that has been depleted after the departure of 17 players during the summer transfer period.

Adams’s immediate task is obviously to keep Rangers in the Premier Division after they sealed promotion in 2019 under Wilkinson.

“I’m confident he can get the job done, he has a wealth of experience, so we’re happy to have him on board,” Simons said yesterday.

“I think he is welcoming the challenge. Obviously with us having lost a good bit of players he’s got his work cut out for him. He’s up to the challenge, he’s optimistic and we’re going to try our best to make the most of the situation we’re in.

“We’re confident we’ll have a good showing under him; he’s got our total support.”

Adams, who coached Village from 2005 to 2007, is looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.

“Things are going good, we’ve got some concepts that we are going to apply,” Adams said. “We lost a lot of players so it will be a learning curve for some of the guys who are coming back out to play as well as some of the youngsters.”

Veteran defender Kamen Tucker, who had a stint with Dandy Town before rejoining Rangers in 2013, is back to assist the team along with forward Travis Wilkinson.

“Kamen has been out [training] and then we have Travis who can do a bit,” Adams said. “My goal is to do an intense pre-season once we get a start date and then do what we can as a team.”

Ernest Peets, the sports minister, had given the Bermuda Football Association clearance to start football from October 23 but Adams doesn’t believe that will happen with just over a week to go.

“The sports minister opened it up to say they can do it, but from talking with other coaches they are not ready yet either in terms of personnel,” Adams said.

“It’s going to take a bit of convincing to get some of the players out; it’s been a tough time for the community in general during the whole Covid situation. What we’re asking from the players, and even the officials, I think it is going to be a challenge to get the guys going in the beginning.”

Rangers were re-establishing themselves in the Premier Division, winning the Friendship Trophy in their first season back after beating Devonshire Cougars 1-0 in the 2019 final.

That was followed by victory in the Charity Cup in last season’s opening match when they beat league champions North Village 4-0.

But now an exodus of players has depleted the Rangers ranks, leaving Adams to face the ultimate task in his return to coaching. Departing the club is the bulk of their first-team squad, with Maquel Nisbett-Tankard, Donte Brangman, Damon Ming and Jaavid Warren-Smith all following Wilkinson to the Trojans.

Also leaving the club are Tre Manders, Rai Sampson, Tre Ming, Quadir Maynard, Khimo Harrison, Diaje Hart Jarazinho Bassett, Vernon Perinchief, and goalkeepers Troy Hall and Shaquille Bean.

Adams will have a new-look team competing in the top flight this season. “I’m happy with the players I’ve been working with, they have shown me some commitment, shown me some talent and now it is just about us working together,” he stated.

“When I came back and coached Village we were quite successful so we’ve just got to look at the things that I learnt then, look at the concepts we used and tie them in with a few other things and make ourselves as strong as we can.

“I’m not really watching how and when other teams do things, what I’m looking at is us implementing our game plan. And if we stick to it we should be all right.”

Adams added: ”Our goal is not to put the pressure on ourselves, but to put pressure on the other teams. I don’t think we’re going to be a pushover that everyone is assuming just because we lost a whole bunch of players.

“If I thought that I couldn’t do a good job there I wouldn’t have taken the job. I have been away from the game for a long time so it was time to give back some of the knowledge that I have of the game.“