Trinidad and Tobago Under 23 team midfielder Kevin Molino has urged his teammates to do additional work after regular training in order to allow this country to compete better on the international stage.
The Orlando City player was speaking during a post comment session at the Marriot Torrance, California following T&T’s 2-0 defeat to Honduras at the Home Depot Center during the CONCACAF final round of Olympic qualifiers last week.
T&T head coach Angus Eve allowed the players to express their views following the loss which saw T&T exit the tournament with one point behind semi-finalists Mexico and Honduras as well as Panama.
Technical Director Anton Corneal, Eve, skipper Sheldon Bateau, defender Daneil Cyrus, debutant Columbus Crew midfielder Kevan George, defender Kareem Moses and Trevin Caesar were also among those who shared their feelings on T&T’s showing in California.
“I think it’s a situation where we need to do some extras,” Molino told TTFF Media shortly after relaying the same advice to his teammates.
“We showed at times that we are capable of playing good football but it’s not enough. We have to do extras in training and after training sessions especially with our clubs. Things like cross balls and shooting and so on we need to improve on. That’s the only way we can give ourselves a fair chance of beating these teams.
“At times we were too scared to get into the box and take shots at goals and that’s because of a lack of confidence but if we can work on simple things and be sure in our ability then we can definitely finish stronger in these matches,” said Molino.
“Personally it’s disappointing for me because I qualified for an Under 17 and Under 20 World Cup and I wanted to make history badly by going to the Olympics but that dream is over now and we have to get back on the training pitch and work harder for bigger things in the future.”
Corneal urged the players to separate themselves from fellow teammates by showing a difference on and off the playing field.
“Don’t let this just be another campaign and when you go back to these clubs you’re just another player. You must work harder and be exemplars to your teammates. People must see that you are a national player and you must want to do more and be better.
You must remember these players and teams you faced because it’s very likely that most of you who stay on the national team will face these same players from the other countries for the next ten years or so and we must ensure that when we come up against them again that we are better off than the previous meeting.”
Corneal pledged that the TTFF will do all that it could to ensure the players were properly guided and prepared for future international assignments.
On behalf of the TTFF, gratitude was also expressed to all supporters of the team including the Ministry of Sport and parents, CONCACAF liaisons and the organizers of the training camp in Fort Lauderdale.
Eve told his players to believe more in themselves.
“I thought we grew as a team as the tournament went along and then we started to believe more in ourselves.
Probably we (coaches) feel too confident in your ability that you as players do. I think our downfall was in the goalscoring department. We cannot go back in the Pro League and just be comfortable playing at the same pace as everybody else. It just will not work.
“The football is faster and more intensive out here. This is faster than what we have back in the Pro League. We have to do the extra work and want to do more and play at a higher level. The effort was good on the part of most of you all but we have to do more in order to compete better.
This is an opportunity for us to go back to the drawing board and correct some of the things we need to and take all the positive aspects away from the tournament and use it to become better players and a better team in the future,” Eve added.