REGGAE Boyz Head Coach Steve McClaren has not only promised recruitment of top players from the Diaspora for the national team but also a clean slate for players already in the team who have had issues with Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). This includes Leon Bailey, who is suspended indefinitely.

McClaren, announced by the JFF on July 30 and officially introduced on Thursday, will continue working at English Premier League team Manchester United as its first-team coach, while in charge of Jamaica.

He suggests this gives him an advantage with recruiting, which he not only said he loves but is key to his plans. One player the JFF has been keen to recruit this year is former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood.

The striker, 22, was loaned by United to Getafe in La Liga, to distance itself from negative feedback surrounding the player because of arrests in 2022 regarding suspicion of rape, and an alleged assault on his girlfriend. Since returning from loan he was signed by Ligue 1’s Marseille on a five-year contract.

Greenwood had one international appearance for England, in 2020. It is believed the England Football Association is, like United, distancing itself from him because of negative publicity, creating the opportunity for him to switch allegiance to Jamaica, based on family heritage.

“It’s a clean sheet with me coming in,” McClaren said during the press conference on Thursday.

McClaren said he had a good conversation with Greenwood recently and hinted that he wants him on his team. McClaren also hinted at interest in Newcastle United defensive midfielder Isaac Hayden, whom he coached while managing that team.

“I know the players very well,” McClaren said. “I met Mason at the Manchester United training ground about three weeks ago, before the announcement [by the JFF] was made, so I had to be very careful what I said to him. We had a little conversation. We’ve had a conversation since, and what I want to do is like I do with everybody when I get back — is to go and meet them, have a conversation with them, and find out the reality of the situation and whether they actually want to come all the way here to play for Jamaica.”

McClaren says, though, that players will not only be considered based on talent.

“It’s the commitment of the players,” he said. “There are two players who should be of interest to us — very good players. I’ll be making sure I have a conversation with all the players. The [JFF] President [Michael Ricketts], Mr [Rudolph] Speid [JFF’s Technical Committee chairman], and Mr [Dennis] Chung [JFF’s general secretary] have shown me a list of potential targets. I know them all very well, I know their agents well. Believe you me, when I get home I’ll be busy on the phone.”

Regarding Bailey, McClaren says he is interested in having him on the team but he will be assessed just like the other players. Bailey’s suspension is due to comments made during a
YouTube interview earlier this year when he criticised the JFF, saying he was forced on multiple occasions to book his own business class flights to and from Jamaica for national games, among other issues.

Although he was suspended by former Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson last March for missing team curfew on the previous assignment in November, Bailey said he was taking an indefinite hiatus for personal reasons.

Hallgrímsson tried to recruit Bailey for his squad for Copa America this summer but was told by Bailey’s camp he was still unavailable. Bailey and his adoptive father, Craig Butler, have also said they wish to see several changes inside JFF before the player returns to the national team.

“A big part of this is recruitment,” he said. “I like recruitment, I like connecting with players, I like talking with players. The most important thing with Leon is to talk to him, to connect, to communicate. I know a little bit about the history, I know a little bit about what’s going on. I understand top players, and it’s a conversation that we will definitely have. I only left Manchester [England] on Monday. I came here to meet everybody, and as soon as I go back — phone calls to all the players. I’ll go see all the players, and quite fortunately Leon is not far from where I live so I’ll be contacting him in the car on the way to meet.”

McClaren says he was told by Assistant Coach Merron Gordon, Ricketts, Speid, and Chung that Bailey is what he describes as an asset to the team.

“He’s a damn good player, I know that,” McClaren said. “He’s suffered, knowing that. But you need good players and you need them to commit — that’s the important thing. So, conversations with all these players is the most important thing on the agenda for me when I obviously get the next few days out of the way. Who is committed to this dream, for this vision? Who wants to play in a World Cup?”

McClaren’s first match is in the Concacaf Nations League against Cuba at the National Stadium on Friday, September 6. It is unknown whether the JFF will lift Bailey’s suspension for this game or whether he is interested in returning.