While intent on convincing more talented English-born players to represent the Reggae Boyz, new Head Coach Steve McClaren says one of his main objectives is to lead the development of local talent on the island.

The 63-year-old, who was appointed at the end of July, is set to oversee his first games in charge of the national senior men’s team when they take on Cuba and Honduras in the opening games of the Concacaf Nations League this week.

The former England manager named his first squad last Friday but despite talks of recruitment of overseas players with Jamaican heritage, there are no new selections in the 23-man roster.

Nottingham Forest midfield star Morgan Gibbs-White, who was reportedly one of McClaren’s main targets, has accepted England’s invitation for their UEFA Nations League games this week. Ipswich winger Omari Hutchinson, who made his debut for the Reggae Boyz in 2022, has also chosen to accept the invitation of England’s U-21 team for their European Championship qualifiers this week.

McClaren has accepted the decisions but says recruiting English-born players will be a challenge going forward.

“On the list that I have, I have 50 names but many of them are 23, 24 and under; good young players. Their ambition, as they’re born in England, is to play for England and that is right, so it’s very difficult to recruit those types of players, so we’re looking at more mature players, who come to that point of ‘I might not play for England but there’s another option’. I spoke to many of the younger players and they’re good enough to wait for England and think they’re good enough for England,” he said.

However, after witnessing Jamaica’s championship performance in the CFU Boys’ Under-14 Challenger series as well as Cavalier and Mount Pleasant in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup, McClaren says he’s motivated to elevate football locally.

“In one respect, recruitment of heritage players is difficult but in the other respect and what I’ve seen with the under-14s, with Cavalier and Mount Pleasant, it’s the quality of the Jamaican players is improving. That’s the key; we have to improve our players on the island, we have to improve the league, the competition, and you can see the progress that’s being made. I watched the [Cavalier] game and all my staff were so impressed, young players playing against very mature men, dominating the game and in the end 4-1. We’ve seen the U14s, how can you win a final 7-1?” he said.

“So this job is twofold. Yes, get the players that we possibly can in the short term and yes, let’s improve the young talent that are there. What the federation is doing, Andrew Peart, Wendel [Downsell] and Mr [Rudolph] Speid is they’re giving youngsters a chance in the competition because you never know what they can do. Three years ago, working with FIFA and the Talent Development Scheme, what could happen in Jamaica is happening. We’re just here to help that process and improve it even more.”

McClaren, though, has no intentions of giving up his task on recruiting players.

“There’s never a cut-off. We’re always looking for the best players, players that can improve our team, players that can improve our squad,” he said.

McClaren will be on the touchline at the National Stadium for the first time on Friday when the Reggae Boyz host Cuba at 7:00 pm in the opening group game of League A. They will then travel to Honduras for their encounter on Tuesday at the Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés, starting at 9;00 pm Jamaica time.

Group B also consists of Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, and French Guiana. The top two teams will qualify for the Nations League quarter-finals as well as the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup qualifiers.