After achieving a unique treble, consisting of league and cup titles this past season, Devonshire Colts acting president Lee Holder has claimed his club have not received the respect and recognition they deserve.

Under the stewardship of coach Ray Jones, Colts bagged the First Division and Shield ‘double’ and then became the first First Division club in local football history to lift the coveted FA Cup.

But despite soaring to unprecedented heights, Holder feels as though his club’s remarkable achievements have gone virtually unnoticed.

“We are not bitter or anything like that but just feel as though the general football public have missed an opportunity to recognise something that is bigger than Devonshire Colts,” he argued.

“I just feel that the football public and even football authorities themselves haven’t really recognised what the club have achieved.

“This is a team that doesn’t even have a clubhouse or a meeting place. My coaches had these guys training in the rain without any complaints while there were even times when we didn’t have substitutes on the bench.”

Colts gained promotion to the top tier next season by wrapping up the league championship and then secured the Shield title with victory over Southampton Rangers in March before returning a month later to the National Sports Centre (NSC) to defeat Premier Division outfit Boulevard in the FA Cup final.

But Holder’s criticism didn’t stop there. He also felt Colts coach Jones was snubbed for Bermuda Football Association’s Coach of the Year Award at the association’s awards ceremony last month — an award that went to Devonshire Cougars coach Shawn Smith.

“Obviously I can be accused of being biased here, but this is one occasion where I am willing to take the heat for standing behind my coach who I think should’ve received the award instead,” said Holder.

“Ray took a group of ordinary players and an ageing centre-half in Shannon Burgess and only one noted class player in Aljame (Zuill), who we lost for the best part of four or five games during the season, and achieved tremendous success.

“Colts won the prestigious FA Cup on the carpet (NSC) with a bunch of ordinary players, many whom played out of position because Ray was able to get them to believe in themselves and also in their ability. And this is why I think Ray should’ve been chosen as MVP because he played a major role in the club’s success.”

Holder also took issue with the current procedure the BFA assesses and nominates coaches and players for various season-ending awards.

“I think we should look into better ways of assessing players for these awards, and there are other ways,” he noted. “I think we should also get evaluations from the coaches and also input from the fans as well and make it ongoing. Perhaps we can make these awards a People’s Award more than anything else.”

Holder went on to suggest honouring local footballers and coaches on an monthly basis, a plan he believes will help ease the burden of selecting awardees at the end of the season.

“What kind of a response are you going to get in the middle of June?” he added. “I really think we should have a coach or player of the month award so that at the end of the season you would have a better idea of who is in the running for some of these prestigious awards.

“And as a member of the BFA executive I intend to put these and other proposals to the association and invite the football public to do the same.”

When contacted yesterday, BFA general secretary David Sabir declined to comment on the matter but acknowledged the fact that every club has the right to express any grievances.