RICHARD King forced his way into the senior Reggae Boyz squad last year after some good performances for champions Cavalier FC in the Jamaica Premier League, and he has remained there since.

Though still only 20 years old, the former Clarendon College daCosta Cup player put in a very good performance in defence in the World Cup qualifier against El Salvador at the National Stadium last Thursday, alongside the experienced Adrian Marriapa and Damion Lowe.

His was an eye-catching performance in a game during which the Reggae Boyz showed vast improvement compared to their last outing.

King thanked the senior players, who he gets to learn from whenever he is called into camp for the national team.

“It’s mostly thanks to the experienced players that I am playing with. They are full of experience and I just have to come in an learn from them,” he said.

Like the rest of the team he played on the front foot, pushing into spaces in the midfield when he could as per the instructions of the coaching staff.

“The coaches tell me to have confidence, don’t be afraid, make mistakes and win it back again. I jut have to be a confident player,” he disclosed.

It was definitely one of the best displays by the Reggae Boyz since King has been a part of the set-up — and he was delighted with the way the team played.

“I love how we controlled the game. It was a wonderful game. Unfortunately we drew, but we should have won,” he proclaimed.

King believes that a contributing factor to the improvement in the display of the team comes down to the players taking responsibility.

“Definitely, things are getting better in the squad. The players said, ‘We have to do it now,’ so we came together and reasoned it out,” he explained.

The polished centre back is hoping for an even better display from the team when they go up against group leaders Canada this afternoon, starting at 3:05 pm.

“We have to keep on improving. Even in the next game, we want a better performance,” he concluded.

— Dwayne Richards