St Clair to keep players together

The Trinidad and Tobago senior football team will regroup on Friday at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar where coach Bertille St Clair will outline plans for the team’s build-up for the semi-final stage of the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign. Following last Sunday’s 4-0 win over the Dominican Republic, St Clair indicated that he hopes to keep a squad of players in training. But he may have to do so without some of the overseas-based professionals who will be heading back to their respective clubs for preseason training later this month. TT have been grouped with St Kitts/Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and most likely Mexico who won their first leg encounter 10-0 over Dominica.

Skipper Angus Eve and company will travel to face St Vincent in their first match of the round on September 5. “We obviously will need to see how best we can keep the guys together and have the team prepared as best as possible for the next stage,” St Clair said after Sunday’s victory at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella. “It’s important that the team stays together. Fortunately we have about six or seven guys who are home-based or are playing with colleges so we can have an opportunity to work with them. Then we will hope to have the full team together again when we tour Thailand and South Korea. We cannot afford to split up now and then we also have a couple more to join us,” St Clair added. Reflecting on Sunday’s win, St Clair said: “The guys were able to string a few more passes together because they were playing on a much better surface than the one in the first leg. I am also happy with the performance of some of the young guys. They went out there determine to play and they want to be part of the structure and it makes everyone put in the extra effort to be part of the team.”

He added that more emphasis will be placed on getting the team to settle into their stride from the opening whistle and play with more intensity. “A week after the first leg, I feel a bit happier because we brought in new blood into the team and they seemed to stir up the other guys. I’m close to a settled squad but the door is not yet closed for any player,” St Clair said. The team is expected to leave in the first week of July for Thailand where they will face that country’s national team on July 10 before moving on to face South Korea on July 14. A friendly against Jamaica is also slated for August in Miami leading up to the start of the semi-final round.