Guyana to test U-23 f/ballers

TRINIDAD and Tobago football coach Bertille St Clair will take charge of a Trinidad and Tobago Under-23 team in a friendly match against Guyana’s senior footballers  at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Centre of Excellence on March 2. The match will serve as an important warm-up for the Guyanese team who are preparing for their opening round CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Grenada. They will stop off here following the first leg in Grenada on Saturday. St Clair will be using the encounter to have a look at the Under-23 players who might be worthy of selection on the senior team which continues to prepare for their upcoming World Cup qualifier against the Dominican Republic which will be played here in June.

Michael Celestine and Corey Rivers are coming off impressive performances in the recent friendly against the Brazil All Star outfit and St Clair is keen to see who else could catch the eye from the Olympic team which scored a 2-1 victory over Jamaica in their last Olympic qualifying affair in Mexico last month. “This is a good opportunity for some of the younger players to get some match practice and show what they can do against a senior team. We have some talented youngsters but they need  time to develop and they need exposure. Rome was not built in a day and my approach is to open up the doors of the national team to players both here and overseas,” St Clair said.

The Tobagonian added that there continues to be interest from players wanting to represent TT and he will look at them for future matches. “Several English-born players have already contacted us and we will take a look at them as well. I am looking for players who have the talent and the right attitude and I am confident that I will get the players I need,” St Clair said. “As I said before, the World Cup is not a tea party and we have to put together a group of players who understand this and who are prepared to work hard for their country,” he said.
 
St Clair warned that he will not settle for complacency or indiscipline from any player. “The tail must not wag the dog and any player who wants to join us must follow the rules like everyone else otherwise he can stay where he is. Football today is about movement and  good touch,” the coach said. “You have to get the ball, give the ball and then move again to receive it. It is constant movement and players have be very fit and able to run for 90 minutes and keep the ball under control. There is no system that can make up for a player who cannot control or pass the ball and who cannot run,” he said. St Clair will resume training sessions today at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.