Only love for Tobago: James Baird hopes to help Phoenix rise again

IT’S been a topsy-turvy start for Scottish-born coach James Baird as the newly-appointed coach of TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) club 1976 FC Phoenix, as a debut 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Point Fortin Civic on December 14 was followed up by a 4-1 defeat to FC Eagles on December 21. The latter win took Eagles from 12th to 11th on the 12-team TTPFL table, with Phoenix’s six-point haul from nine matches seeing them just two points above the former team in tenth.

This year has been an intriguing one to say the least for the 42-year-old Baird, as the former goalkeeper briefly came out of retirement to play for British Virgin Islands team Wolues FC in the Caribbean Football Union Club Shield in July, with a coaching stint with Eagles just helping the latter club avoid a bottom-place finish in the 2024/25 TTPFL season just weeks before.

And after Phoenix endured a shaky start to the season under coach Delroy Patterson, Baird received a call from his good friend Terry Williams, Phoenix president and technical director, who asked him to come on board and help steady the ship for the Tobago-based club, which is now in their third season in the TTPFL top flight.

Baird’s playing career saw him featuring for clubs across his native Scotland, Iceland, the US and TT, while his international coaching experience has included gigs with countries such as the BVI, Turks and Caicos and the TT women’s team, which saw him being appointed as a goalkeeper coach in 2021.

Baird has been living in TT for roughly a decade. And having tied the knot in Tobago, Baird says the island holds a special place in his heart. From a professional perspective, he wants to repay the good faith that was extended to him when he joined then-TT Pro League team Tobago United back in 2007.

“Tobago means a lot to me. To coach a Tobago team is something special to me,” Baird told Newsday during an interview on December 20. “They gave me an opportunity in my career when I was having a down spell, and it can kinda put my career back on course.”

Having copped the TTPFL tier two title in 2023, Phoenix started their inaugural tier one season in a wobbly fashion before registering a solid sixth-place finish in the 2023/24 campaign.

In the subsequent 2024/25 season, Phoenix played the entire campaign without any home games and finished ninth on 18 points.

Baird said setting the team’s stalls for a lofty finish will be a tough ask for the current season. However, the former Guaya United coach believes the team and island have enough tools to make a run their fans will be proud of.

“My goal would be a mid-table finish this season. I do believe we can get a lot better, but we have to wait to see what’s going to happen in the transfer window in a few weeks,” Baird said. “If we could get a little extra in, I think we could make a push for mid-table, and then next season, if we could get a few extra guys in, I really think this team could push. We’re the only team from Tobago. And it will be good for Tobago, but also for Trinidad, for Tobago to have a team that’s competitive and can challenge from over here.”

He said Phoenix need to be able to produce a brand and quality which will attract interest from beyond Tobago’s shores as well.

“Being the sole team from Tobago and coming in a situation where they are near the bottom of the league, it will be a bit hard to attract players initially because of the distance. But again, that’s up to the team to show we can do it and start going up the table, and people will start to look at it as a realistic option. It’s just about creating that environment for people to see.”

In his eyes, there hasn’t been much of a gap between Phoenix and the teams they have played thus far this season, and he said the onus is on him to instill that belief, which will then translate to on-field performances.

“Like I told the players, I don’t think they really believe how good they are. And some of them are excellent players,” Baird said, pointing to players such as defender Jeremiah Bristol, midfielder Antonio Pantin, veteran Trevin Caesar and forward Teejay Cadiz, who scored his league-leading eighth goal of the season versus Eagles at the Mahaica Sporting Complex in Point Fortin on December 21.

“The team has virtually played everybody, and from what I’ve seen, there’s nobody who has beaten us badly. And I think the games have just been one goal here or there. I think it’s about being creative in that environment and getting the players to enjoy what they’re doing...the players are very open, and we’ve had a lot of conversations. I think that’s going to help us going forward.”

Though he has initially been contracted for this season, Baird believes the Phoenix project could really take flight in a couple of seasons, once given the chance. He may be a goalkeeper by trade, but Baird says he has a lot more to offer than his experience between the uprights.

“I always like to stay away from the stigma of being a goalkeeping coach because I like the tactical side a lot more than that. Yes, I was a goalkeeper, but I kinda got attracted to the tactical side of the game. I like to try to motivate, and I like to get my teams to play aggressive, high-energy and high-intensity football.”

With their originally scheduled Boxing Day clash with Caledonia now postponed, Phoenix and Baird will now look to 2026 to possibly turn their season around.