GETTING his younger players to appreciate the history and winning tradition of PHC is key to restoring the club to former glory, Zebras coach Kyle Lightbourne said this week in the buildup to their Martonmere Cup final against Devonshire Cougars on Saturday at Wellington Oval.Ask anybody with a knowledge of Bermuda football to name the island's three most successful clubs and the names North Village, Somerset Trojans and PHC are sure to be mentioned. Village are presently the league champions, the Trojans under Dennis Brown are re-emerging while the Zebras, too, are going through a period of transition with the temporary loss of both their field and clubhouse in Warwick. Victory this weekend would help them turn an important corner.

"Somerset have worked their way back, North Village have still held their heads high and PHC are trying to work their way back," said Lightbourne.

"Traditionally PHC have been a big club over the years but times have changed and with our club not being in commission a lot of the young people around 16 or younger probably don't know the history of PHC. I've heard comments 'who's PHC, they're nothing, they're this and that' but 20 years ago PHC, Somerset and North Village were the top teams."

He acknowledges that PHC are "one or two players short" of being serious title contenders this season.

"But, given a good run, anything can happen," he warns.

"The players believe in what we're trying to do, we just need to get the consistency level up."

PHC won't be at full strength on Saturday as some players will be abroad this weekend. Injuries will rule out one or two others while captain Blenn Bean will be missing because his religious faith doesn't permit such activities on a Saturday.

"Chris Furbert, who has only played one game for us this season, is missing (injury), we also have a few guys who are going to be away for the weekend and so it's going to be a tough one for us, but we have to be mentally prepared," said Lightbourne who presently has a lot on his plate as he is also the head coach of the national team that is preparing for Digicel Cup action in Barbados later this month.

"This is something I asked for and it is helping me learn about the players here in Bermuda, so I'm not complaining about having both teams, in fact I'm quite enjoying it," said the former England professional.

Lightbourne came off the bench and popped up with a crucial late winner in a Martonmere Cup group match against Village last month, but an ankle ligament problem has since sidelined him. He won't be able to call on himself as a secret weapon.

"I've been injured since I played against North Village so I very much doubt it," Lightbourne revealed this week. "It's not improving that fast and it has been about five weeks and I could still be a week or two from returning."

Omar Shakir, who could replace Blenn Bean as captain, is also recovering from a knock. A strain could also rob the team of their oldest player, veteran striker Sammy Swan who is still playing in his mid-40s.

"Sammy got an injury last week in a warm-up when he damaged a calf muscle so he's touch and go for this weekend," the coach revealed.'We have picked up a few injuries in the last week or so and also three of our players (Dennis Russell, Shawn Russell and Dano Outerbridge) will be away. Blenn will also not be able to play because of his religion. It gives opportunities for other guys to step in and try to stake a claim. We definitely will be looking to put out our best effort.

"With Cougars probably being the favourites, we will definitely have to play to a good high standard in order to win this competition, that's what we will be looking to do. Hopefully the guys will turn up on the day and play well, that's all we ask. I've noticed they like to raise their game against opposition that, on paper, look very strong."

PHC started the season with a surprise loss to promoted Paget, before victories came against North Village, Dandy Town and Somerset in the league and Martonmere Cup. "We are capable of putting a run together but also we're capable of losing games we should really take hold of," said Lightbourne who watched his side squeeze out a 1-0 win over the other promoted side, St. David's, last weekend.

Despite talk about Wellington Oval being a bogey ground for PHC, Lightbourne relishes having his Zebras graze on the open spaces of the oval.

"I've always enjoyed playing at St. George's, it's a big pitch with a lot of grass on it," said Lightbourne. 'I've always enjoyed playing at St. George's, St. David's and Somerset, they tend to be the better pitches along with White Hill. All the pitches that have lights end up being overused.

"Looking at this season we were obviously looking to have a good run in the cups. We have made it to one final and now want to get some consistency in the league. The Paget game was disappointing, we didn't play well on Sunday (v St. David's) but the conditions were difficult with the wind in St. David's but we managed to win. We played 10 times better against Paget and lost so that's the way football goes.'

On their day, Cougars are capable of beating any team on the island. They showed that against defending Martonmere Cup champions Dandy Town whom they hammered 5-0 in the semi-finals and on current form should get past the Zebras. Raymond Beach is their main scoring threat but they don't rely solely on the talented striker for goals even though his strike partner, Heys Wolfe, has now returned to Dandy Town.

It could be a day of double success for the Cougars' as their women's team, Lady Cougars, are favoured over Lady Rams in the Konica Cup final which starts at 12.30. Rams beat Somerset Hurricanes 4-1 in the semi-final while Cougars got by St. George's 2-0 in the other semi-final.

PHC to face Cougars in final