Rutter given Jabloteh mandate

ENGLISHMAN Stephen Rutter has been given a mandate to guide CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh to victory in the 2005 CONCACAF Club Championships. This achievement can earn them a qualification berth at the FIFA World Club Championships in Japan in December 2005. The 41-year-old Rutter was announced as Jabloteh’s third successive English-born head coach at a press conference at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Tuesday. Rutter replaces Ricky Hill who resigned for “personal reasons” a few weeks ago.

Hill, who spent a year with the club, had earlier succeeded former England defender Terry Fenwick as head coach following Fenwick’s acceptance of a coaching job in his native land in December 2002. Rutter noted that he was familiarised with the work of Jabloteh following discussions with both Fenwick and Hill. “You have to strive to be the best you can be,” he said yesterday. The holder of a UEFA Advanced Coaching Licence admitted that his role would be to “firstly maximise the potential of the players and to develop the best environment for the younger players.”

Rutter, who spent his playing and early managerial career with Yeovil Town in Somerset, England, has conducted a number of coaching seminars for a number of FIFA Confederations, including CONCACAF and UEFA, and has also worked with English youth teams from Under-15 to Under-18 levels. “It is the considered view of the Board (of Directors) that by virtue of his qualifications and experience, Mr Rutter is uniquely suited to deliver on the club’s vision and ambitions,” said club chairman Jerry Hospedales. Married with two children, the Somerset resident admitted that he will begin his job without his family by his side (they are yet to relocate to Trinidad) and will finalise his contractual terms by the end of this week. Jabloteh is the current holders of the TT Pro League title as well as the First Citizens Cup and the CONCACAF Club Championship.