Trinidad and Tobago's senior men's footballers, the Soca Warriors, will return to the grind from Monday with the start of an intense residential training camp in Port of Spain before the team departs for the United States on July 1 to participate at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Belgium-based defender Sheldon Bateau shared his feelings after the 3-0 loss to Jordan last Tuesday, saying he and his teammates are fully aware of the responsibility they hold at the moment as they try to fix things heading into the Gold Cup.
“I think we are all disappointed with the performance in the last game against Jordan. I was disappointed with my own performance and the all round performance of the team. Jordan were more prepared than us, having played a game a few days (before) and won it. We know what our capabilities are so that made it worse in terms of how we played and the end result,” Bateau told TTFA Media.
He continued, “We have a lot of young players and home based players and it will take some time for them to really understand the task ahead. We don't have a long time but I think it is enough time for us to get this right.
“Everyone understands it will take a lot more than what they are giving currently. But I think it's also more than just the players going out on the field. There is a lot to be done behind the scenes to create the right environment. It's sometimes difficult for players to forget what is going on behind the scenes and just focus on football.
T&T face Guatemala on July 9, in Chicago prior to facing Cuba and Mexico. The T&T team was scheduled to return to Trinidad at around 5 p.m. yesterday.