When you are called upon the serve the country at the senior international level after a near three-year hiatus, there must be something of value that makes you worthy of a recall.
Cornell Glen and Carlos Edwards have been summoned to duty as head coach Tom Saintfiet makes a valiant attempt to put points on the board for T&T both in World Cup and Gold Cup qualification. And while Glen, 35, is still able to run at defences and finish on goal, he believes his role now is one with a difference. Both he and Edwards have multiple international appearances between them, several Caribbean Cups, Gold Cups and the experience of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
“I think now my role will be a bit different. I see myself more as someone coming into to motivate the other players, some of them being younger and then others who have a fair amount of international experience,” Glen said.
“I am not here to keep anyone in line but at the same time I think players like myself and Carlos can definitely play a vital role in motivating players to lift their game and to instil some fight in them as we try to raise ourselves out of difficult position we are in.
It’s not much different to what we experienced in 2006 and nothing is impossible. We are in a bit of an experimental stage now under the new coach, but a couple good performances, we start believing again and then anything is possible from there on. A couple good results in March and we can be right back in it,” Glen said.
He added, “I am here to try and help the team both on and off the pitch. For me the important part has been staying fit and staying in tune with the development of the game and the way it is evolving in some aspects, which I think is always important for any player. I have been enjoying my football and now I will be looking to pass that back on to the national team.”
Edwards is on the same page as Glen
“Like I said before, a lot of people have said that both of us coming back may not be the best thing because obviously they are looking at our age,” the 38-year-old Edwards said.
He continued, “But I believe we can play a positive role. We didn’t call ourselves to the team, we got called by the people in charge and obviously it means they also believe in us. We had similar situations in 2006 and now the most important thing is everybody gelling together with the focus on achieving one common goal which is Gold Cup and World Cup qualification because it will do a world of good for the younger players in the mix and football on a whole in the country.”