Olympic team coach Zoran Vranes will hold just a few more sessions before heading off to Bermuda with a Trinidad and Tobago Under-23 squad for three friendly matches later this month.
The national team, comprising mostly Under-20 players, will depart for Bermuda on December 26 and will face the Bermuda Under-23s in two matches on December 28 and January 1 and club side Devonshire Cougars on December 30 before returning on January 2.
Along with having regulars like Leston Paul, Jean Luc Rochford, Akeem Adams, Glenroy Samuel and Juma Clarence in his squad, Vranes said US-based players returning home over the holiday period will also be looked at for possible future selection as they prepare for the Pan Am Games and 2012 Olympic Games qualifiers.
’Yes, of course we will arrange to have a look at these players. We have already planned this and we will see which of these players can make a contribution to the team.
I have been saying that now is a very critical period to see which players really have what it takes to go to the next level and graduate to the senior team,’ Vranes told Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) media officer Shaun Fuentes after training at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on Tuesday.
’Not because a player went to Egypt for the Under-20 World Cup means that he is guaranteed on the team for the Olympics, or even for the senior team.
The player must understand that and we will be paying close attention to see which ones are committed to the cause and not feel he will make it because he has ability,’ he added.
Already the former T&T senior team coach has expressed some displeasure with the no-show of some of the players invited to train ahead of the Bermuda trip.
’But I am not surprised about this because in this region, and maybe more in Trinidad , you tend to have this problem where players, I don’t know, maybe begin to feel they are maybe too good already.
But I am still happy to see some of the players who have done well in the past, still showing up and showing that desire to succeed and to make it to a higher level,’ said Vranes, adding that he was disappointed that players who hadn’t shown up did not get in touch with team management to explain their absence.
Among the players missing is defender Robert Primus, who played in T&T’s 2-2 draw with Mexico in October, as well as recent senior team call up Shahdon Winchester, who played for Naparima College in the Coca Cola InterCol final last week.
National U-20 defender Daneil Cyrus, who lined up for eventual InterCol winners El Dorado, has shown up for Vranes’ sessions.
In the interim, Bermuda coach Scott Morton says his side is charging up for the matches against T&T. Morton believes the upcoming tour will be a means to ’gauge’ themselves against formidable opponents such as Trinidad and Tobago.
’I think it’s going to be a good challenge for everybody and expect Trinidad to be a good test for us,’ Morton said.
’Trinidad will be a good measuring tool for us and I can’t wait for the challenge. I think the tougher the opponent the better it is for us because it allows us to get a gauge of where we are and what we need to do.
’The main focus of this tournament is to gauge ourselves where we are and help us to put more precise things in place to make sure our team is ready for any challenges that come ahead, such as the CAC and PanAm Games.’
Bermuda are trying to get Ipswich Town player Reggie Lambe for the two games versus T&T.