McClaren sees similarities to Simoes’ ‘98 style
Published:Tuesday | March 25, 2025 | 12:10 AM
REGGAE BOYZ boss Steve McClaren said having met former head coach René Simoes, he believes his style of play is very similar to one deployed by the Brazilian during the team’s successful 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Simoes visited the Reggae Boyz camp ahead of their second-leg Concacaf Gold Cup preliminary tie against St Vincent and the Grenadines.
During the visit, the two coaches spoke extensively on their football philosophies leaving McClaren with the realisation they both favour possession-based football.
McClaren pointed to Jamaica’s recent 1-1 draw against St Vincent where the team came away with 75 per cent of the possession but rued missed opportunities.
“I was talking to René last night and we were talking about the style of football and what he did in 1998, and he talked about keeping the ball and the possession of the ball,” said McClaren.
“The principles are the same, so in terms of possession, St Vincent defended deep so we had a lot of possession. We had 16 attempts at goal and we had seven on target. On the night, it was very frustrating and when you look at the game overall and the chances we created, we should have scored more than one goal.”
However, McClaren said while the team is capable of dominating the possession stats, it is also important for them to capitalise on said dominance.
He explained it will take some time before the team completely understands his style of play as they are often away from national camps with their clubs.
He pointed to their missed opportunities in the first leg as proof they are still learning the various aspects of his philosophy.
The head coach is confident the players will become more consistent in their performances as they continuing to work together.
“I think what it is that we’ve started, I wouldn’t say a new style, but it is my way of playing and they have to get used to that,” he stated.
“When they go away to their clubs and they come back, we have one or two days in which to recreate certain patterns in terms of build-up, in terms of pressing, and sometimes that takes a while to synergise.
“We’ve yet to do that. Sometimes it’s a little clunky and sometimes we have it so we can show the team ‘That’s it, thats great play’. Tempo, width, speed, crosses, chances; we need that more consistently over the 90 minutes.”
Jamaica is set to face St Vincent in the second leg today at Sabina Park with kick-off set for 7:00 p.m.
The winner of the two-legged tie will advance to the group stages of the Concacaf Gold Cup set to begin in June.