Door open to Yorke, Latapy

NEW national football coach Bertille St Clair believes that once the right measures are taken, this country can fulfil its dream of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

But he has warned, the journey will be no joy ride. And he said, the door is definitely open to his prot?g?  Dwight (Yorke) and Russell (Latapy) and any other player “once they are going  to come and do the things that I want them to. “It is important that they understand this. They must continue to lead the life of a professional footballer whenever they join the national team.” St Clair said. He said: “I will  not tolerate any  slackness or indiscipline when it comes to wearing the Trinidad and Tobago shirt.

St Clair said he was always eagerly anticipating the chance to get the country’s football back on track. He said he never doubted that he would once again return to the helm of the national team. “I think football is based on success and I think I have been successful at the national level in all age groups. “I have a burning desire to take Trinidad and Tobago to the highest level which is to carry us to the World Cup. I felt the time had to come and this is the time. “God had a hand in this and I will give it my best shot.,” St Clair said. During the period away from the national scene, St Clair spent time developing his coaching school in the sister-island. He said, “It gave me an opportunity to survey the various things that were going on around us and to work harder to develop myself. I used the time to develop my coaching skills and travel to different areas.” He was at times in charge of the Atlanta-based  International School of Soccer which he led to various tournaments in the United Kingdom. 

On the topic of Trinidad and Tobago’s journey to Germany, St Clair called for a removal of complacency among those involved and concerned with the effort. “I was concerned when people said it was an easy draw and that we could maybe settle for fourth place. “It’s harder than that because there is nothing like an easy game and I would want to think that we should have enough pride to want to do better than fourth place. My goal is to ensure we finish in the best spot possible,” he said. “People always talk about the discipline that I instill into teams but they never mention about the coaching aspect.” St Clair is well aware that his return to the position as head coach comes at a time when the country is not in the most favourable position both internationally and regionally. Already St Clair has started putting things in place for the preparation and selection of the team alongside his staff assistants, team administrator Sandra Basheer, assistant coach Ron La Forest, goalkeeper coach Michael Maurice, physiotherapist Zephryn Nicholas and equipment manager Ikin Williams.

And he added: “I am looking forward to working along with coaches like Alvin (Corneal) and Lincoln (Phillips) and other local coaches on the road to Germany.” St Clair also hinted on the return of two of this country’s most celebrated players as well as English-born defender Ian Cox. He said several top local and overseas players have already called to congratulate him and pledge their support.