TRINIDAD AND Tobago football team coach Dennis Lawrence revealed yesterday that the locally-based national players will start training on February 20, a day after the end of the 2016-2017 local football season, as he begins preparations for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup CONCACAF Zone Final Round Qualifiers against Panama (March 24) and Mexico (March 28).
Both matches will be contested at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
In an interview on the TT Football Association (TTFA) Twitter page, Lawrence, the ex-national defender, noted, “I’m going to have access to the players from February 20.
We’re going to start (training) on February 20.
I’m going to try and select the squad, hopefully, within the next couple days.
“I’ve spent the time communicating, not only with the staff members but with some of the players (locally and foreign- based) just to introduce myself and get them to understand the way I want to work and how I’d like things to happen,” he added.
Referring to his backroom staff, which he announced via a TTFA media release on Saturday, the 42-year-old said, “since I’ve been here, I’ve been taking the time to assess everything, assess the people that are involved in (T&T) football, both locally and abroad.
“I’ve come up with a staff that I think can help us (to) achieve the things that I want us to achieve,” he continued.
“I think I’ve put together a very ambitious, innovative and hard-working staff and I’ve got a lot of trust in the people that I’ve selected.
I know them very well. I’ve worked with them in the past and I’m quite confident and happy that I’ve finally put together a staff that I think would help us to achieve our goals.”