Seven-point plan - Whitmore targets near maximum in WCQs
Published:Wednesday | May 29, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Ryon Jones, Staff Reporter
Jamaica's senior men's football team head coach, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore, is targeting a minimum of seven points from a possible nine, as the country enters a pivotal phase of its CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying (WCQ) campaign, with three games in eight days.
The Reggae Boyz will first host Mexico on June 4, before welcoming the USA three days later and then play away to Honduras on the 11th. The team, which is seeking to qualify for its second senior World Cup, currently sits at the bottom of the standings in the Hexagonal after playing to a 0-0 draw with Mexico, followed by a 1-1 draw with Panama and most recently a 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica.
"I wouldn't say these games will determine whether we make it (to the World Cup) or not," Whitmore told The Gleaner yesterday ahead of a training session held at the federation's Technical Centre on the campus of the University of the West Indies, which comprised 10 players.
"We have back-to-back games, which are Mexico and USA, and those are two important games that we need to get maximum points from. I will be satisfied with nine points, or at least seven out of the nine from the three games," he admitted.
Whitmore has, however, bemoaned the limited time that he has been afforded with the team because of the players' club commitments, but still remains confident that qualification can be achieved.
"If you look on the last Gold Cup (2011), that was the only time that we got to spend quality time with the team and you could see the performance of the team," Whitmore reasoned. "We would like to have ample time with these players so that we can work on a number of things going into games."