Still a lot to learn, says McClaren

Reggae Boyz head coach Steve McClaren says it is important to select local players to learn his system but their availability is sometimes uncertain as the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) schedule is very tight.

Jamaica clipped Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 in the first of two friendlies against the eastern Caribbean country at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Thursday night. The second game will be played tomorrow at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in Kingston with kick-off set for 8 p.m.

“We would have liked two days (with the players) two weeks ago, two days last week and two days this week with them. Then they could get familiar with what international football is all about and what we’re trying to bring to the national team. It’s a lot to learn,” McClaren said.

With Thursday’s win under his belt, McClaren said he is hopeful that the squad can repeat the result in the second friendly.

“The energy that the substitutes brought, we need that again on Sunday. We’ve got quite a few knocks, quite a few tired players. So yeah, we look, we reassess tomorrow, and we pick a team on Saturday that can repeat the result on Sunday,” McClaren said.

The squad is made up of mostly local players because the games do not fall in a FIFA approved international window.

Thursday’s goalscorer Sue-Lae McCalla said it was not difficult to make the transition from the JPL to the international system.

“The squad is familiar with each other, so the coach kept it very simple. He gave us very simple information, so it was nothing different. We know that it’s international football, and we have to be mentally focused throughout the game,” said McCalla after his fourth appearance for Jamaica.

“Scoring is nothing new for me. Locally in the JPL, you know I find those goals very often. It was just to keep my composure and finish,” added McCalla who registered his first international goal.

Thursday’s victory was the first at home for the senior men’s national team since they clipped the Dominican Republic 1-0 on June 6 last year in a World Cup Qualifier.

Both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are getting ready for some very important assignments later this year including the Concacaf Gold Cup and World Cup Qualifiers.

Trinidad’s head coach Dwight Yorke expects his team to show improvement in the second game

“We know we came here to play two games. We haven’t got a lot of turnaround time. We’re going to go and review it (opening game) and look at the options. We need to look at players and see where they are. We are expected to improve as a team, and that’s what we’re hoping to do,” added Yorke during a press conference after the match.

In an evenly balanced game on Thursday that could have gone either way, McCalla scored for Jamaica in the 80th minute. He slammed home foll0wing a flick-on header by Shaniel Thomas.