2 months ago
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Reggae Boyz coach Steve McClaren is calling on his players to be ruthless against the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in their opening second round Concacaf World Cup Qualifying fotball match at the A.O. Shirley Recreation Ground today, starting at 2 p.m. (Jamaica time).
The Reggae Boyz go into the match with a near full strength squad, including in-form winger Renaldo Cephas, Kaheim Dixon, Leon Bailey, Demarai Gray, Ravel Morrison, Damion Lowe and goalkeeper and captain Andre Blake.
McClaren said 207th ranked BVI can be dangerous going forward and that they must be wary of the threat, and focus solely on bringing home the three points.
“Obviously we watched (BVI) games. We watched one live (vs Dominica), as it happened so close to these games. It was a good advantage,” McClaren told the pre-match press conference.
“We looked at them and certainly with the new coach they have, they are trying to play football, trying to do it the right way. I commend them for that.
“They got beaten, but it was a close game and BVI have got the players who can play football. They can score and they are dangerous on set pieces, so we have to be wary,” he assessed.
“We have to be focused and ruthless and make sure we get the three points.”
The Reggae Boyz added some recent recruits, such as Jon Russell, Rumarn Burrell and Tyreece Campbell, along with long-serving Ravel Morrison, who got his first call-up by McClaren for the recent Unity Cup.
The Jamaica coach said that the limited time they have to get these players to gel with the rest the squad the way they (coaching staff) want to, and the challenges they have with travelling should not be an excuse for not delivering on the day.
“There are no excuses. This is what Concacaf, the Caribbean World Cup Qualifying football is all about - adversity, travel, getting here late, having only one day to prepare,” he said.
“We’ve had that for the last two weeks. It’s good for the players, a great experience; stop moaning and get on with the game and do your job and win,” he stated.
“We had the same situation in London (Unity Cup), 17 players didn’t know each other and we had to gel them together very quickly for the Trinidad game.
“They were great in making sure they did that. We grew as the week went on, got more players and the spirit was good. We have to continue that spirit, with about eight players coming in.”
McClaren said it is very important to win, and set the tone for what is expected to be an even tougher match against Guatemala on Tuesday.
“We start again with preparation for this game and Guatemala. Two huge games for us. The goal is, one, to win the game, and two, it would be nice. Apparently there are 1,000 Jamaicans living on this BVI island and it would be nice if all of them turned up to watch the Reggae Boyz,” McClaren expressed.
“There is a long way to go and many milestones to get through. But one at a time and right now the focus is on BVI.
“It’s not going to be easy, three o’clock (2 p.m. Jamaica time) kickoff, the heat. We have to make sure we are right mentally and physically to make sure we win the game,” he concluded.
The BVI recently changed coach, with Spaniard and former Belize coach David Pérez Asensio taking over from Chris Kiwomya.
Asensio has taken charge of two matches to date, a 1-1 friendly against St Vincent and the Grenadines and a 3-0 defeat to Dominica in their opening World Cup Qualifying game on Wednesday.
English (US) ·