“I wants the players out on the pitch and the fans up in the stands to be as one.”
That was the clear signal of T&T Senior Team head coach Dennis Lawrence, who took to the field on Monday as T&T senior men’s team began its preparations for its friendly against Suriname on March 10, then its two 2018 World Cup qualifying matches on March 24 and 28 here at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
“I don’t just want the boys to go out and perform for the sake of it,” he said. “We’re not England or Brazil, but our fans have a special way of loving the game. They want success and I want to give it to them again,” Lawrence said this week in a FIFA feature article.
The former Wrexham man spoke of the influence Leo Beenhakker has had on him.
Lawrence paid close attention to his chain-smoking boss back in those glory days, the colourful Dutchman who masterminded T&T’s qualifying campaign.
“In my eyes, Leo Beenhakker has no equal when it comes to influence on a football team,” Lawrence said. “The way he conducted himself, his discipline, and the way he managed the men was incredible.”
Beenhakker was the first person Lawrence called after being offered the national team post. “He just told me ‘you’re ready, so go and do it.”
Lawrence began his first training camp with a provisional squad on Monday ahead of the March 24 and 28th World Cup qualifiers in Port of Spain against Panama and Mexico.