Former Trinidad and Tobago football captain and assistant national coach David Nakhid has described newly-appointed T&T head coach Leo Beenhakker as one of the best he has ever encountered.
Nakhid, who played under the Dutch national at Swiss club Grasshoppers, said Beenhakker's experience can be an advantage to the T&T Warriors, who are bottom of the six-team CONCACAF standings in final round qualification for the 2006 World Cup.
"He's one of the greatest coaches, probably ever," Nakhid said of 62-year-old Beenhakker, "and we have to try and benefit from his experience."
Asked whether he felt the new coach will produce better results, Nakhid was optimistic that the team could improve under Beenhakker's stewardship, saying it would augur well for the future, adding: "This is football-time will tell."
Nakhid also felt the national team needed to improve, not just in the troublesome midfield, but in a holistic way, adding that the marked improvement in their performance against Costa Rica on Wednesday directly resulted from the fact that former coach Bertille St Clair had more time to work with them leading up to the game than the previous two final round matches.
Asked how he felt about working with former teammate Russell Latapy, who has also been named as an assistant coach, Nakhid replied: "It's business as usual. Everyone has to be a professional and work for the good of the team."
Nakhid was optimistic of T&T's chances of qualifying for the World Cup finals in Germany next year.
"Well, of course we need to do well against Panama, we need to get three points. We still have a good chance (to qualify). If I didn't think we did, I wouldn't have stayed. I would have offered my resignation."