Head coach Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore says he’s encouraged by the attitude of his players in their first training session in preparation for a friendly international against Honduras next Tuesday in that country.

In the one-hour-and-fifteen-minute session at the grounds of St George’s College on North Street yesterday, the 16-man Reggae Boyz group gave a high-spirited response to the dictates of the coaching staff, where the emphasis was on the technical aspect of the game.

“We concentrated on ball possession and other technical aspects… I believe the session was tremendous and we saw the kind of attitude that we want as we chart the course to Brazil 2014,” said Whitmore, a former Jamaica star.

While the session involved sprinting exercises, two-team scrimmaging and a tactical routine that sought to fine-tune team shape in attack and defence modes, Whitmore said “we didn’t want to pressure the players too much” as some of them are coming from long flights out of Europe.

He did, however, promise that future sessions will see an intensity in the training regime.

Two England-born invitees — Bristol Rovers midfielder Marvin Elliott and Chesterfield defender Nathan Smith — had their first taste of the Reggae Boyz life, and Whitmore said he is heartened by what he has seen of them so far.

“They are new guys and they are still getting familiar with the other players and our way of doing things, but still I like what I have seen of them so far… this is only the first day of training, we have to wait and see over the next couple of days to make a quality assessment,” said the former Jamaica captain.

Elliott, 27, said his first training session as a Reggae Boy “was very good”. “I like a lot of what we did and I particularly like the exercise at the end where we focused on team shape. I see a lot of quality in the team and I just have to work hard to get better,” he said.

Smith, meantime, hailed the professional attitude of team officials and the warm welcome from other members of the team. “The pick-up at the airport was prompt, everybody has been friendly and I like the way the gaffer (coach) has been straightforward with what he expects from us. I just have to now work hard because I want to play,” said the 24-year-old leftback.

Four players of the 20-man squad were missing from yesterday’s first session of a four-day training stint, which ends on Saturday. Due in last night were UK-based Keammar Daley, USA-based Dane Richards and Omar Cummings, while another England-born newcomer Marcus Bean is scheduled to arrive today.

Apart from Elliott and Smith, the other players present yesterday were overseas-based Damion Williams, Demar Phillips, Jason Morrison, Dwayne Miller, Jermaine Taylor, JeVaughn Watson, Shavar Thomas, Luton Shelton, Rodolph Austin, local-based Richard Edwards, Wolry Wolfe, Xavian Virgo, Keneil Moodie and Gariece McPherson.

Training resumes this morning with a gym session and a return to St George’s for practice in the afternoon, while a field session is slated for the same venue tomorrow evening. On Saturday, there will be a morning gym session to be followed by a final training session on Saturday evening, also at St George’s.

The team departs early Sunday morning for San Pedro Sula, Honduras, via Miami.