Technical director of women’s football, Even Pellerud has expressed his pleasure at the U-17 football camp which was held over the weekend with prospective players.
The camp included 12 foreign based players, in addition to Pellerud’s local cadre of players who train on a regular basis with the Norwegian.
“We finished a very successful weekend in camp on Sunday, we worked very hard, had six sessions on the weekend and a game on Saturday afternoon. It was very good, I am extremely pleased with how things went,” said Pellerud.
Known for the great relevance he places on physical fitness, the former Canadian coach explained that what stood out most for him during the camp was the ability of the foreign-based players, to fall in and compare with the local girls fitness wise, as it has been an issue in the past.
“We have had some concerns before about the fitness of the foreign- based players, but I think all of them are close to the fitness level of the local girls. They still have some work to do but I think all of them have improved.”
With the Fifa U-17 World Cup, which is to be held in T&T from September 5-25, Pellerud said that while he is impressed with some of the players, he will not be naming a final squad anytime soon, as he feels it is imperative that there remains a competitive edge within the group.
“For me it’s more to make the group as competitive as possible, it is necessary to get the best out of every player, you just keep an eye on improvement and development, because they are young they go up and down in performance,” said Pellerud.
The local group resumed training yesterday with a gym session at the Ato Boldon Stadium. Pellerud has plans of organising more international tours for his players to better prepare them for the World Cup.