{moszoomimage: galleryid=52 filename=jw.jpg} Special Adviser Jack Warner turned up at the final training session of the year for the national senior footballers at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday, not to observe or scrutinize, but to say thanks and wish them well during the yuletide season and hectic period to come.
It was a show of appreciation that didn’t go unnoticed by the players who have gone through a 2004 season which saw them qualify for the final round of six in the 2006 World Cup qualification phase. But it wasn’t without some indifferent performances and for the entire contingent, the year was certainly a trying one.
Because of this, experienced player Anthony Rougier, a former captain, spoke on behalf the players, expressing thanks to Warner for his support towards the “Soca Warriors”
“I think it’s touching to not only me but all of the players when we see what he is doing for the team and for the football on a whole,” Rougier said. “It’s special but you know it can be scary in a way too because it means that we owe him a lot too. I’m not saying that it’s pressure on us but it’s an exceptional thing which we are grateful for.”
Rougier added that he owed Warner a lot for his support to him as a player in England and that even in China, where he now plays professionally, Warner is highly respected and admired. “We intend to make him very proud in 2005,” he added.
Moments before those words, Warner, the chief financier of the team, handed out tokens of appreciations in the spirit of the season to the players, as well as coach Bertille St Clair and other members of the technical staff. Warner said that they will have his wholehearted support in 2005, adding that he was impressed with the level of dedication and discipline he saw during his time at the ground on Friday morning.”
Word of the short meeting reached the ears of the other members of the team in the United Kingdom as well.
“I think that sort of gesture is something that makes you get serious in your thoughts and you realize that this is more than just putting on a shirt and kicking a ball,” Coventry City striker Stern John told TTFF Media on Saturday. “Mr Warner has been the man behind this team and to then turn up in that sort of manner, taking time away from his hectic schedule, shows he’s much more than just a man putting his money behind the team or a boss to his employees. Hopefully we can pay back sufficiently not just to him but to all those who have good hopes for the team.”
There were also words from Brent Sancho of Dundee would always be remembered for leading a fight for better conditions for players at a time when the team was still coming off the disappointment of 2002 World Cup elimination and trying to recover under ex-coach Hannibal Najjar. But neither he has had reason to complain about the current provisions for the team.
“Of course there’s always room for more, especially if the team continues to do well, then the stakes will improve and we can’t just expect him (Warner) to be the only one backing us. But I think for what it’s worth, he’s been the main force and we respect and thank him for what he’s doing. I think all of us know that qualifying for Germany will simply be the champagne on ice,” Sancho said.
The team resumes training on Monday at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Centre of Excellence ahead of Sunday’s Digicel Caribbean Cup encounter against St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Queen’s Park Oval.