Exactlty what would coach Otto Pfister be asking of his players before they enter the field of play today against Guyana?
Had you been asked to comment on what you would have said to the selected members of our national team, I rather suspect that the answers will have varied immensely.
Some of our people will already have given up on the guys, judging from the results they have been subjected to against teams like Bermuda and Barbados.
Others may even be hoping that we fail to move on for personal reasons, ranging from the omission of their favourite club players, or because they would like to have the coach changed.
There are those who believe that failure of the present coach to qualify for the next round, will bring focus upon themselves as they crave for the chance to be the head honcho.
Thankfully, the patriots are the true soldiers and their faith lies in the country’s ability to step up to the block when the going gets tough.
Actually, my humble belief is that none of the above will be able to offer more than some type of support negatively or positively, seeing that this performance on the field will be based upon the attitude of the players who are given the job of earning victory.
Yes, coach Pfister has the responsibility to turn them into a winning team and if we take a look at the results since he has accepted the job, it will be fair to admit that his 4-1 success cannot be ignored.
Nevertheless, the first and solitary option for victory is left with the eleven players on the field. Sometimes we tend to hide behind the fact that players win matches, regardless with what the coach says. In the case of professional players, the onus should be placed squarely in their corner, where every decision or action on the field is based upon their ability to think and perform sensibly
I often conjure in my mind, my expectations from the chosen players from two aspects, the first being their ability to perform the skills for which they have been selected, and secondly, the strength of their commitment, dedication, and attitude towards getting the desired result.
Judging from the matches which I have seen over the past two months, my thoughts will be focused upon the following players. Marvin Phillip has done enough to tell me that he is more than ready for the job ahead. He has shown the type of command of the penalty area which should make life easy for his fellow defenders.
I expect that Carlos Edwards will be returned to his regular right wing back position, where his stability of solid defence will be accompanied by his smooth runs down the right flank to provide accurate crosses to incite penetrative finishing.
He has a very positive attitude to the game and this will redound to the benefit of the team. Left wingback Akeem Adams is competitive, strong and has a desire to take his game to the highest level. This is good enough for me.
Central defenders Julius James and Seon Power are both talented, the former, with a cool composed approach and astute decision making as the final defender. Power is an aggressor with a passion for getting to the ball first and a penchant for winning aerial crossed balls.
Most times, I will prefer to see him make better use of definitive passes rather than just banging the ball away. Khaleem Hyland demonstrated some days ago, that his understanding of the position of deep lying midfielder was good enough to keep the might of Chelsea in the champions league at bay with all their super forwards.
I have to admit that my early impression of Khaleem was that he fitted the bill when it came to perfect aggressive spirit and an absolute desire to win every one of his tackles.
These ingredients seem to have been replaced by a preference to being a playmaker, using choice of passes and control of midfield as his main strengths. Honestly, I believe that his original attributes will better serve this team, especially in the central are of our defensive midfield position.
The two players in this team who will win the game and many more for T&T are Kevin Molino and Hughtun Hector. Young, talented, aggressive and adequately focused to perform at the best of their ability, the future of our Football can be positively viewed in their direction.
The choice of selection for the wing midfielder positions is critical and should be based upon the characteristics of the players as opposed to their use of the skills they possess.
Personally, this away game should be void of speculation in terms of a defensive mode, hence the reason why my mind runs upon the choice of Osei Telesford for the right wing back position and Edwards to the right midfielder spot.
Edwards will force the opposition to be cautious about leaving him unchallenged, which can mean having an extra defender from Guyana paying attention to his forward runs and a left wing back defender in the opposing team to remain at home to protect his citadel.
Telesford is a true defender, very disciplined, whose winning of the ball is his strong point, followed by his quick distribution to his midfield players. That type of discipline is truly needed on the road. Chris Birchall will do many things for this team.
While he is not a player with exquisite skills, he will complement that with total aggression, high work rate and a powerful shot from outside the penalty area. Playing in front of Hyland, Birchall should provide some level of dominance in the centre field.
His attitude to playing will also instill a similar trend to the players around him. Funny enough, skipper Kenwyn Jones is a major concern of mine. Surely, his ability to play is unchallenged, but he seems hardly ever at full throttle and it falls short of what is expected in our national team.
If Kenwyne plays the hustling game which he played in his last two outings for his Club Stoke City and challenges for the aerial cross balls, then we can be assured of a victory, as there are few defenders who can compete against him when he is in search of goals.