Bmobile Joe Public head coach Derek King is of the opinion that defender Carlyle Mitchell is good enough for the Trinidad and Tobago Senior Team.
King, the 2009 Pro League Coach of the Year was in high praise of Mitchell and defensive teammates Makan Hislop and Radanfah Abu Bakr following the Lions’ 5-0 victory over Surinamese club Walking Boys in their opening second round match of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship.
“I hope the national coach (Russell Latapy) could come on Sunday and have a good look at Carlyle,” said King in recommendation of the former T&T U23 player.
“He has been terrific for us throughout the Club Championship and Wednesday night was another great performance.”
Joe Public hammered Walking Boys courtesy a double by Kerry Baptiste and goals by Yu Hoshide, Trent Noel and Andre Toussaint at the Marvin Lee Stadium.
“Overall it wasn’t bad performance by us,” continued the 2009 five-title winning coach. “Because we had Radanfah Abu Bakr bakr coming into the team for the firsts time teaming up with Makan Hislop, Mitchell and Keion Goodridge in the back.
“We started off a bit slow but after our players settled themselves we went on to score some good goals. Walking Boys came out and for the first twenty minutes passed the ball around well, but after that we had total control.
“I knew personally that they were not ready for us,” boasted the Joe Public coach.
King applauded performances by regulars Trent Noel, Kerry Baptiste and defender Mitchell for keeping alive the chemistry of last season’s five-title winning squad.
King is also looking forward to another good showing on Sunday against St. Vincent and the Grenadines club System 3 from 6pm at the Larry Gomes Stadium as they look to advance into the Final round of the 2010 CFU Championship.
“Our confidence is high at the moment. I reminded our players that we have the advantage playing at home and we must continue to do our best. With our strong team play and individual assets, I believe we can do this comfortably.”
Sunday’s surface is different from that of the artificial turf in Macoya which Public is very familiar with, however King is confident that his team can adjust.
“Its different to Marvin Lee Stadium. But my players are confident and they are aware that changes in pace and movement of the ball and they will adjust.”