St Clair calls meeting with top players

Bertille St Clair, new head coach of the Trinidad and Tobago Senior football team and his technical staff have invited a group leading locally-based professionals to a meeting at the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence, Macoya tomorrow. The meeting is to discuss the 2006 “Journey to Germany” World Cup campaign. St Clair has begun a process of familiarising himself with players and coaches to seek their input into the World Cup campaign and to tell them about his philosophy and approach to preparing the national team.

The Tobagonian also wants to lay down the ground rules for training and playing with the national team so that players called for duty  has a clear understanding of what is required and expected of them. “It is important that everyone understands our mission. It is not going to be an easy task and we have a hard road ahead. We want all the players to understand that the World Cup is not a tea party and that it requires mental toughness, top fitness and complete dedication. “I want to make it clear to them from the start that we will not accept anything less,” St Clair said yesterday. “A training squad has not yet been selected but this is just an opportunity for me to renew acquaintances with the players and give them an insight into my philosophy,” he added. St Clair is also planning to meet with the overseas based players at a later date.