Retired footballer Michael Johnson thinks Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have gone through a radical makeover since his days of wearing the black, green and gold.

The England-born defender says the country’s football has made quantum leaps and is today recognised as a powerhouse within Concacaf, and has gone farther to gain some measure of respect further afield.

“The team now is one of the powerhouses within the region and we were always expected to be up there in qualifications, winning tournaments and being in finals with the likes of the US and Mexico — and that’s the pressure that the team today has to deal with, but it is a welcome pressure that Jamaica now finds itself,” said Johnson, who represented the Boyz between 1999 and 2003.

“When you look at some of the players, with the likes of [Leon] Bailey who is world-class, the [Boyz] are expected to be up there and to be recognised as a powerhouse within the region,” said the former Guyana coach.

During his day as a Jamaica international, the former Notts County centre back says there was a strong focus on getting Jamaica on the football map.

“There is a huge difference between then and now, because in 1998 and prior to 1998 there was a situation to making sure that Jamaica was an established, recognised football powerhouse in the region and also in world football — and that came to fruition at the World Cup in France.

“Then there was the continuation of that, and that was the major difference between that period of time and the team now,” Johnson said.

While the Boyz have not been back to a senior Fifa World Cup, the team remains dominant in the Caribbean, but more importantly, it is highly regarded in the wider Concacaf.

As testimony to Jamaica’s emerging pedigree in the confederation, the senior men’s team has been to consecutive finals (2015 and 2017) of the marquee Gold Cup.

The Boyz are today ranked third in Concacaf and 45th by Fifa and have been dominant in the Nations League, topping their zone with maximum 12 points underlined by 18 goals and none against.

Johnson, 46, joined the Jamaica set-up under the iconic Brazilian Rene Simoes and arrived at a time when the nation was still feeling the tingle of the historic France 98 World Cup qualification.

But even then, Jamaica’s football was still comparatively underdeveloped, with little or no physical signs of participating on the game’s biggest stage.

“I wouldn’t say it [when I arrived] was a huge culture shock, it was more the resources that was a source of shock…when I came there I was part of the Premier League team at Birmingham City where you have the best facilities, and then to now come to Jamaica and to train at the Red Stripe pitch, it was difficult to adjust to and then to try and play the type of football we wanted to play.

“But I thought the players adjusted really well, because obviously we qualified for Gold Cups after the 1998 World Cup in France. So, it wasn’t so much about the culture shock, it was more about adjusting to the fields and also to the style of play which was more suited to Caribbean football — with that slow methodological build-up as opposed to the rush and tumble of the Premier League and the English Championship,” Johnson told the Jamaica Observer from his home in England.