While being quick to point out that there is still more work to be done, Xavier Gilbert, head coach of the National Under-17 Girlz, has expressed pleasure with the crop of players on display thus far.

Gilbert and his assistant Toni Cowan hosted their first camp over the weekend with a pool of 24 local players as they commenced preparations for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-17 Girls Championship to be held August 2-6.

At least five members of the triumphant 2015 campaign are expected to return to the squad to assist in the defence of the title, which they claimed with a 2-1 win over Haiti in Puerto Rico.

“I am happy with a lot of things and disappointed with a few, but once you are happy with majority then that’s always good. With that being said, there is still a lot of work to be done because there are still some areas that we definitely need to work on.

“Our defensive unit needs a lot of work, particularly with our central defenders, but we just have to continue working hard and maximise all the time that we have with them and see how best we can make sure that we are ready for the first round of CFU tournament,” Gilbert told the Jamaica Observer following a near two-hour session on Saturday at the Jamaica Football Federation Technical Centre, situated on The University of the West Indies Mona Campus.

The majority of the players in the current pool were also a part of the National Under-15 squad for the CONCACAF tournament in Orlando, Florida, last year.

“It is good that we are starting out with a crop of our local-based players. We know how well they can do and we also know how the overseas-based players can help us, there is no doubt about that. But having a good pool of local players that we are able to select from is good because things will happen, and once we have a good pool and they are playing together getting the exposure and experience, then we can always build on that,” the tactician noted.

“I would have liked to start (camping) from last year, but it is still early days and it is a little bit more than usual, but the consistency is what we want and I think we are going to get that this time around, which is good” he added.

Now that the tone has been set to plot the way forward, Gilbert is optimistic that the tactical awareness and consistent level of improvement will be a key feature during the course of their weekend camps leading up to the tournament.

The Inter-secondary School Sports Association Schoolgirl Football competition will be the scouting ground of the coaches as they continue to seek the right combination of players to construct a formidable outfit.

“We understand that in their school system it is different; they play different positions in the school system and different style. So it is just for them to make the necessary transition and adjustments in the national programme, which is what we expect of them,” he ended.