North Village's footballers are getting a new coach.

Scott Morton - whose Premier League outfit were toppled from local supremacy by Dandy Town - quit his post last month at the end of the 2003-04 season.

Stressing his decision was made since the start of the season and had no relation to Village's dismal run in the Premier Division or FA Cup, he cited family commitments (especially now having young children), no time to pursue his coaching education and a need to distance himself from the soccer scene as the main reasons.

“It's important that sometimes people remove themselves from a situation so they can get a better view of it. Sometimes when you're involved in something for too long you get blinkers unintentionally and you can't see things that need to be seen,” he explained.

In a candid self-analysis, Morton conceded he had to examine his motivational skills.

“That's important. As a coach, you can have all the tactical skills and technical drills but if you can't motivate your players and get them to believe in you then all those other things go out the window.

“Coaches have to recognise it's not always the players' fault. It's hard to point a finger at oneself and say you need to improve in certain areas but that's what I've learnt this season, especially that I have to be a better motivator,” he told The Royal Gazette.

This recognition came from listening to Village's players and offering them an open forum to speak out whenever necessary. In addition, internal disquiet compounded his wake-up call.

“It was said players were disgruntled and took out petitions (against me). That was true. One or two players did and we had a meeting with the executive and ironed out the issues and one of those players came back and things went on fine.”

Elaborating on the players' complaints, Morton said they felt he was “unapproachable”, “sometimes held grudges” and that his training sessions were “predictable”.

As for Village's results in the past year, the coach said he was “extremely disappointed even though we finished with three trophies”. Village snagged the Charity and Martonmere Cups as well as the Friendship Trophy but missed out on the prestigious FA Cup as they surrendered their league title too.

“I feel that with the team North Village has it's unacceptable for the club to finish in that position (fifth) during the league. We should have been competing for the league right up until the last game. We should have been competing for every trophy this year.

“I feel that I had a failure year with the talent I had at Village,” noted the 36-year-old who switched to coaching after knee trouble curtailed his playing days.

Asked why Village performed so miserably, he surmised that players did not rise to the occasion.

“Players wanted to give the same (output) that they gave in the last two seasons when, once you're on top and have repeated as champions, you must go the extra mile.

“I think they felt that, because they dominated in the last two seasons and came out successful, the same output would be enough. They didn't realise they needed to step to another level.”

However, Morton shouldered some of the blame too.

“Sometimes I felt that I didn't put the right pieces together to make the puzzle fit. Again, I feel the remedy for that is taking a backseat and looking from the outside, regrouping and then moving on from there.”

While he has left the job, this tactician is hoping his mark remains, not only in the players he guided but in recommendations he made to the club's executive. One, in particular, calls for heads to roll.

“One of the recommendations was that at the end of season they should demand from the coach a list of players who he thinks should go or stay.

“Clubs in Bermuda have this thing that because certain players have come up through the ranks then they are always entitled to play. For me, that previous thinking has to go,” he insisted, noting that such lackadaisical attitudes harm not only clubs but the national team to which these players graduate.

Asked if he felt there were players with that mindset at the Bernard Park organisation, he replied: “I think some of them have that in their minds. So, when they are brought back to reality and left out of the team they have a problem with it.”

Though he did not compile such a list, Morton said he would still be willing to provide it if Village's hierarchy wanted it.

The former midfielder/sweeper who represented Centaurs, Dandy Town, Hotels and Vasco Mariners in his heyday has no concrete plans just yet to continue his coaching education but intends to use international contacts to get the ball rolling in that area via various courses and visiting professional clubs.