Former national standout Leroy DeLeon steered the once struggling Pt Fortin Civic out of the bottom half of the Digicel T&T Pro League championship into fourth position to be voted coach of the month of February.
DeLeon took The Fan Club award, sponsored by the country's leading apparel and merchandise football store which has locations in Movietowne, Gulf City and Trincity.
Point Fortin is now 15 points away from leaders Central FC (45 points).
DeLeon, the 67-year-old T&T Sports Hall of Famer and football legend, said while he was happy to guide his team out of the second half of the league, winning matches or titles isn't his main focus for the remainder of the season.
Instead, DeLeon, who was installed as interim coach at the start of February following the resignation of coach Reynold Carrington, said: "If we win a game, it's fine but I'm putting things in place for next season when we will be a force to be reckoned with."
DeLeon is without the services of suspended defenders Andre Ettienne, Garyl Doldron and Glen Sutton for their involvement in a brawl with Police.
DeLeon led his team to league wins over St Ann's Rangers (4-1), Defence Force (2-1), Police FC (3-1), Caledonia AIA (3-1) and Play Whe San Juan Jabloteh (5-1), only losing against league leaders Central FC (1-0) while drawing with North East Stars (1-1).
The results marked a complete turnaround by a side that "lacked discipline and motivation" and was struggling near bottom despite boasting quality players such as ace goal-scorer Marcus Joseph, experienced and gifted midfielder Andre Toussaint, hard tackling skipper Andre Ettienne and T&T shot-stopper Marvin Phillip.
A former national captain Carrington, 44, led Civic, on debut in the professional league, to a commendable fourth position finish in the 2013-2014 Digicel Pro League, but at the time of his walk-out, he left the club in seventh position with just 11 points midway through the current season with only three wins, two draws, and six defeats.
DeLeon's feat of three consecutive wins in the month of February gave him the edge over Central FC and two-time Coach of the Month winner this season, Zoran Vranes, for the award for February.
"It's nice but it wasn't something that I was looking for," DeLeon said over his accolade.
"This is not about me; this is about what I can do for the young men. So far they have received it very well. They have started respecting and believing in what I am trying to teach them. I'm doing this because I love it. I've coached in America, I've coached all over, and I'm happy that I can come back here and help out my neighbourhood."
DeLeon, who had a 16-year professional career between 1967 and 1983 in the United States with various clubs including San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders in the North American Soccer League (NASL), and is the father of Nick DeLeon, a midfielder attached to Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit DC United, credited an involuntary turn-around in attitude by players for Civic's recent rise.
"Our players attitude towards the game gave them confidence," said DeLeon.
"What I normally do in practice is try to break one bad habit. I try to improve on that every session and let them know why I am breaking that habit; and why it's bad.
"So far it is surprisingly good. We are taking it one game at a time and looking forward to next season. There were problems with the respect and the discipline factors; they were bad habits I had to immediately break.
"For instance, I told our players, 'your decision is your decision to not come to practice'. I will tell them, 'I respect it but I don't agree with it.' But when I make my decision and it affects their pockets they have to respect it," concluded DeLeon.