Technical director of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) Lincoln “Tiger” Phillips has made a call for improved local football standards.
Phillips, a former national goalkeeper, gave a synopsis of the current state of Trinidad and Tobago football at a recent media conference at the President’s Box at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
“Our football is very slow, very predictable. Our speed of thought is very slow,” he said. “We play a very static game. Our defenders stay in defence, our half-backs stay at the half, our forwards stay in the front-line.
“The game is not fluid anymore and that is the challenge we have in Trinidad and Tobago,” added the former United States youth team goalkeeper coach.
“We have to play with more speed, our players have to be much more skilful to (adapt) to the modern game.
If we are to dominate the football in the Caribbean, then we are to improve significantly,” he continued.
“And if we are to place among the top two in CONCACAF, then we are clearly do a ‘bang-up’ job in developing our football.
“The question is, ‘Who is responsible for the players not playing up to their own standards?’ The coaches are ultimately responsible for the performances of the team.”
The 68-year-old ex-QRC, Maple and Defence Force star noted, “We now, at the Football Federation, have to create an atmosphere where we develop our coaches to teach the modern game.
“As the technical director, my job is to develop a coaching scheme that will enable our coaches to teach the modern game. In order to do this, we’ve established, three to four years ago, a national coaching scheme where we over licences on the “A” (to) “F” levels.”