PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — A positive start, mental strength and a complete team effort is what Trinidad and Tobago will need in order to make it out of a tough CONCACAF fifth round and qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, says captain Kenwyne Jones.

T&T will clash with confederation giants United States and Mexico, along with Panama, Honduras and Costa Rica, in a six-team, Hexagonal round-robin qualifying final round starting next month, as they bid for one of the three automatic berths at the FIFA showpiece.

“We want to be able to start off quickly and positively and try to pick up the maximum points at home against whoever we play and try and pick up points away, because the entire campaign is about strategy,” the former Stoke City and Swansea City frontman told the Guardian newspaper here. Soca Warriors will play Grenada in an international friendly on March 19.

“Going into places like Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras are not easy for anybody. These countries are not as welcoming as us and it’s a tough battle and I don’t think a lot of the players have experienced that

“So it’s going to be a brand new experience and one that is going to take a lot of mental strength from us and we are looking forward to the challenge.”

T&T were one of the more impressive sides in the fourth round of qualifying, suffering a single defeat as they finished second in Group C on 11 points, two shy of group winners United States.

They were the only Caribbean Football Union side to reach the final round as the likes of regional powerhouses Jamaica, French nation Haiti and St Vincent and the Grenadines all missed out.

And though T&T are packed with an array of stars who ply their trade in Europe and the United States, Jones said it was important the team played as a united force.

“It’s not going to take one man to make us qualify, as you can tell from the last campaign that we were successful in it was a total team effort, so we are going to have that mindset going through to the “Hex” (Hexagonal),” he noted.

T&T host Costa Rica in their opening finalround game on November 11 before traveling to San Pedro Sula four days later to take on Honduras.

Panama and Mexico await them in March next year in the competition which runs until October, 2017, and Jones said there were improvements to be made to T&T’s game if they were to be successful.

“For 99 per cent of the players, playing in the ‘Hex’ will be a first-time experience and also a bit of anxiety,” he pointed out.

“We need to work on stuff, we need to get more solid and more disciplined in the way we defend. And the way that we have been letting in goals, we need to strengthen our passing game and our attacking and score consistently.

“I believe the World Cup final-round campaign is on our minds at the moment and yes, we are anticipating it and we are looking forward to it, but we are also anxious in getting to work and getting things right.”