Reggae Boyz’s head coach Theodore Whitmore was left beaming from ear to ear after guiding his charges through a spirited Wednesday morning training session in San Salvador.
It was the total opposite from the last set of games in October when injuries and off-the-pitch problems conspired to rob him of his preferred list of players in both quality and quantity.
But now he has at his disposal a quality group of 24 players who looked sharp, focused and committed to the job at hand, which is a crucial game against El Salvador on Friday night at 9 o’clock at the Estadio Cuscatlan.
Whitmore was left impressed with the team’s chemistry, which is getting better as the group adds more training sessions together.
“Yes, no doubt about it,” responded Whitmore when quizzed about the team’s improved chemistry and understanding of each other.
“But once we can find the right balance and the players execute we should have no problems,” added the head coach confidently.
The Jamaicans are currently in sixth place in the eight-team points standings on five points, the same as Friday’s rivals El Salvador, but with a better goal difference.
Mexico lead with 14 points, followed by the US on 11, Canada on 10, Panama 8, Costa Rica on six, and Honduras at the foot of the tables on three points.
At Wednesday’s training session which included an 11 vs 11 40-minute game, the speed of the players emerged as one of the tactics to be employed in Friday’s match, but Whitmore was playing his cards close to his chest.
“That’s (speed) one of the plans based on the players we have available to us, so it is just for us to find the right balance and execute on match day.
“Every player here understands and knows what needs to be done and that is going to be critical,” the coach added.
The head coach admitted that both sides yesterday morning were given certain tasks to be carried out during the session, and they were expected to give feedbacks at last evening’s team meeting, in which the performance video analyst would present a visual breakdown of the session.
“We want to hear from them if the objectives were met based on what they were tasked with, so this afternoon we will have the findings.”
But overall the technical staff was happy with the workout. “Very pleased with the enthusiasm of the players, the camaraderie is good, the vibes in the camp is good, I’m pleased with what I’ve seen this morning (Wednesday) at the session and looking forward for the final session tomorrow (today) and the game (on Friday).”
The coach is also fully aware of the momentum gained over the last two games and he wants to continue that trend.
“The last two games we have managed to garner four points and we want to build on that so again it’s the execution that is going to be important,” insisted Whitmore.
Following Friday night’s game, the team will return to Jamaica on Saturday to prepare for the visit of the US next Tuesday.
