3 months ago
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Reggae Boyz head coach Steve McClaren said the unavailability of several of the Reggae Boyz first team players due to injuries and club duties has opened the door for local-based players to be selected for the upcoming Unity Cup.
McClaren was speaking yesterday in a Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) press conference where he announced his 22-man squad for the four-team tournament.
Of the players selected, ten currently ply their trade in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL).
McClaren explained the selection process was complicated as several of the programme’s main players are unavailable due to injuries.
“It has been a very difficult squad to pick mainly because of the timing of the fixture. It is around the time of the JPL playoff dates so they are coming in very late – jet lagged and they will have one day’s preparations for the game so not very ideal.
“We have a mixture because we have had injuries – Michail Antonio, Di’Shon Bernard, and Bobby Reid with his hamstring injury,” he explained.
McClaren also said the timing of the competition proved another obstacle as it meant several players would be left fatigued from their club duties.
With the various leagues in the English footballing pyramid set to end two days before the start of the Unity Cup, McClaren believes that with the timing it would be too heavy a workload for players to handle.
These affected include Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey, Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock and Coventry City’s Joel Latibeaudiere.
The Reggae Boyz boss made the decision to exclude these players from the Unity Cup to keep them fresh and ready for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers and the Concacaf Gold Cup.
“Bailey and Pinnock, they have their last game on May 25. They have had a tough season and we need them fresh for the World Cup Qualifiers and the Gold Cup so it is not ideal so they will join us for the World Cup squad,” he explained.
“Latibeaudiere is similar, a long season with playoffs and again, we need him for the World Cup Qualifiers and Gold Cup. Three camps would be too much for these players.”
SOMETHING SPECIAL
Despite the difficult situation, McClaren is looking forward to the Unity Cup and believes several of the local-based players will do well against the mix of Caribbean and African opponents.
Jamaica will face Trinidad and Tobago on May 27 with Nigeria taking on Ghana the following day.
The winners of both games will advance to the final on May 31, with the two losers contesting the third-place match on the same day.
McClaren said the opportunity to play will be special for the local-based players and draws from his familiarity with the players due to his local camps earlier this year.
“Because of the local camps that we had in January and February and because of the inclusion of 10 JPL players in the last squad against St Vincent, we look to give them experience by coming to the United Kingdom (UK),” he said.
“When you play international football, you want to give local players that experience to not just play on the island but to play abroad and especially in the UK, it is something special. Because of the limitations on who we can pick, it gives us an opportunity to have JPL players in this squad.”
Full squad
Goalkeepers - Shaquan Davis, Benjamin Williams, Tafari Chambers
Defenders - Richard King, Mason Holgate, Dexter Lembikisa, Kyle Ming, Amari’i Bell, Greg Leigh, Stephen Young, Sue-Lae McCalla
Midfielders - Isaac Hayden, Kasey Palmer, Brandon Cover, Jon Russell, Daniel Green
Forwards - Dwayne Atkinson, Renaldo Cephas, Warner Brown, Rumen Burrell, Kaheim Dixon, Javon East
English (US) ·