TT Pro League Coach of the Year Michael Mc Comie of the 2006 Pro League Champions B Mobile Joe Public will no longer be in charge of the Macoya based team as he is expected to take up duties with the national Olympic team ahead of the upcoming 2008 Olympic qualifiers.
It is confirmed that Cuban Coaches Domingo Hernandez and Manuel Rodriguez will take charge of the ‘Eastern Lions’ for the 2007 season.
According to the owner of the Club Mr. Jack Warner, both Domingo Hernandez and Manuel Rodriguez are expected to arrive in Trinidad on Tuesday ahead of the team’s preparation for the 2007 Pro League season.
Mc Comie who led the ‘Eastern Lions’ to the Pro League title in 2006 has been appointed assistant coach to Dutchman Jan Van Diesen who is also the assistant coach to the Trinidad and Tobago national head Coach Wim Rijsbergen.
Owner of the Pro League Club and FIFA Vice President Jack Warner confirmed to ‘ttproleague.com’ the move by his league winning coach.
“Mc Comie has been elevated to the national Olympic team as an assistant to Jan Van Diesen and they will both start working with the team for the Olympic qualifiers later this year. The plan really, is to allow him to gain the experience at this level, before he returns to the Club,” confirmed Mr. Warner.
The qualifiers for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing China begin in September of this year for the Trinidad and Tobago team, but no date has been confirmed yet as to when the local team would begin training.
Technical Director of the ‘Eastern Lions’ Keith Lookloy now believes the Club’s decision to hire the Cuban coaches Domingo Hernandez and Manuel Rodriguez was the right decision.
Speaking with ‘ttproleague.com’ Lookloy said, “I have known these two coaches for many years while working with FIFA. They have good local and international records in Cuba. They have the national team experience at the under-17 level to the Olympic team level.”
“Domingo Hernandez would be the head coach of Joe Public for the 2007 while Manuel Rodriguez will be the assistant coach.”
“If you look at the recently concluded Digicel Caribbean Cup, the top three coaches outside of the Trinidad and Tobago team were Cuban coaches. Haiti and Cuba both had Cuban coaches.”
“They are from the Caribbean, they know the people and our cultures and I think we have made the right decision,” ended Lookloy.
According to Technical Director Keith Lookloy, both coaches are contracted for the 2007 season with an option to renew for the 2008 season.