T&T men’s football head coach, Dennis Lawrence was in a confident mood during his pre-match press conference at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, yesterday.
Lawrence identified the two upcoming regional friendlies against Grenada and Guyana, which will occur on the 11th and 14th of this month respectively, as a perfect opportunity for the team to finish the year on a positive note.
The purpose of the two games he said, is for T&T to begin the process of conquering the Caribbean.
“Until we can conquer the Caribbean again, I will welcome any Caribbean team as an opponent, and these are two good teams so I look forward to the games”.
‘Tallest” alluded to the fact that it will be a great opportunity to give some of the players that missed out on World Cup qualifying action, a chance to prove themselves moving forward.
In response to a few notable exclusions in the team, he affirmed that those players who were not called up for the matches would still be in his plan moving forward.
Apart from focusing on the matches itself, he focused on the long-term development of the team.
One area of concern addressed was that of assistant coach Sol Campbell’s status with the team moving forward.
Lawrence said that the TTFA will try to find a resolution to Campbell’s current contract, which states that he only needs to be available for World Cup qualifying campaign matches, but he pointed out that to do the job he should be living in Trinidad.
Campbell currently resides in England, which could create problems moving forward.
When alluding to the future development of the football program, he identified the home for football as a key platform.
“The home for football will hopefully serve as a platform for the team in terms of training sessions, coach meetings, nutritional balance, match analysis, and everything which needs to be instilled for success,” he said.
According to Lawrence, the TTFA will also hopefully announce something that is happening with the youth team that he said will be a fantastic opportunity for the development of the program.
In addition to the two matches, the TTFA confirmed that a third match will be added to the program.
It will feature the national under-20 women’s team playing against a select team from the senior women and the under-17 team dubbed the President’s Eleven.
The match will take place at 4 pm prior to the senior men’s match against Grenada.
T&T’S LAST MATCH AGAINST GRENADA:
T&T 2 - 2 Grenada
April 29, 2017
St Georges, Guyana
International Friendly
T&T’S LAST MATCH AGAINST GRENADA IN T&T
T&T 2 - 0 Grenada
April 26, 2008
Macoya
International Friendly
T&T’S LAST MATCH AGAINST GUYANA
T&T 3 - 0 Guyana
November 15, 2011
PoS (forfeited match)
T&T 1 - 2 Guyana
November 11, 2011
St Georges
*Both matches were FIFA World Cup 2014 Preliminary Competition COCACAF Zone qualifying matches.
T&T’S 24-MAN SQUAD FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES:
GK – Adrian Foncette, Gregory Ranjtsingh, Glenroy Samuel,
DEF – Sheldon Bateau, Aubrey David, Curtis Gonzales, Triston Hodge, Alvin Jones, Josiah Trimmingham, Kevon Villaroel, Mekeil Williams,
MID – Hashim Arcia, Neil Benjamin, Levi Garcia, Nathaniel Garcia, Kevan George, Nathan Lewis, Jared London, Neveal Hackshaw, Kathon St Hilaire, Kevin Molino,
FWD – Jamille Boatswain, Akeem Roach, Shahdon Winchester.