WARRIORS IN AUSTRIA

FOLLOWING their 3-2 win over Austria Vienna, on Tuesday, coach Leo Beenhakker held a one hour recovery session yesterday morning with the Trinidad and Tobago football squad.

And as is the custom during training camps of this sort, following a media session, he gave Dwight Yorke and his team-mates the remainder of the day off and up to middday today.

Outdoor activities like golf, cricket as well as a trip into Graz had been planned but the rainy conditions confined the Warriors indoors at the Hotel IM Park in Bad Radkersburg.

The consistent downpour however didn’t prevent the players from sticking around, kicking the extra balls around the pitch, testing the goalkeepers from all different ranges and meeting with the Press before hopping on their bikes back to base

The TT squad has now been in camp for 14 days preparing for their opening 2006 World Cup fixture against Sweden on June 10.

And on the day that Cornell Glen and Aurtis Whitley were back for training, the inclement weather did in fact ensure that they got all the rest possible before Beenhakker starts the ball rolling ahead of Saturday’s friendly international against Wales.

In relation to the team preparations, still on the sidelines treating a hamstring twitch is Silvio Spann but Glen and Whitley came through the session well and Beenhakker is expected to have 23 players to select from for Saturday’s encounter minus Spann.

Coventry City striker Stern John has expressed concern over the possibility of injuries as the World Cup draws nearer but he also gave thumbs up to the build-up so far.

“I think Tuesday’s match came at the right time. The opposition was no walkover. We are in a phase where we are still trying different team selections and it’s not that we are experimenting. We are trying to prepare to play three different teams at the World Cup.

“You will see from what we are doing in training, we have to play differently in our matches and we are trying to put that into practice now on the pitch. I don’t think conceding two goals is a major worry for us coming out of this match,” John said..

“It’s always important for strikers to put the ball into the net when the chance comes and you have to turn half chances into chances because in the World Cup you will probably get two chances in a match and they must count.

“Your confidence gets bigger with goals and while you will not always score in every game, the main thing is to try and contribute as much to the team once we are out there on the pitch,” he added.

Midfielders Chris Birchall and Densill Theobald were two players along with Yorke who played the full 90 minutes and both youngsters saw the opportunity as vital at this stage of the preparations.

Meantime, it has been reported that winger Ryan Giggs has been ruled out of the Wales squad for Saturday after damaging his toe in a 1-0 win over a Basque XI on Saturday.

Manager John Toshack has called up Crystal Palace’s Rhoys Wiggins and Yeovil midfielder Aaron Davies to the squad which is missing a few more injured players.