Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz Head Coach Steve McClaren is urging locally based players to confidently express themselves whenever they take the field against Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago in their two-match international home series next week.

The first game is scheduled for Thursday at Montego Bay Sports Complex, kicking off at 7:30 pm, while the second match is to be played three days later at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, with start time at 8:00 pm.

McClaren said the matches are a crucial part of preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers later this year, and they will offer the chance to identify players who can fit into his squad.

“I want the players to showcase their talents individually, but to make sure that collectively they play as a team because you don’t qualify for anything playing individually. It is a team sport… I am looking forward to working with them [the players],” he said.

“Winning the game is not imperative, but important. The process and the two-day training that we have with them, albeit not enough to get enough information into them, is enough to know them, so the process [continues],” McClaren noted.

The vastly experienced English-born coach emphasised that most of the locally based players have significant experience playing for their respective clubs, and he expects to see that maturity reflected on the field against Trinidad and Tobago.

He added: “Can they play in a team? That’s the key thing. Have they got the individual talent, technique, and intelligence to jump to the senior national team? We have to keep it very simple, with only two training sessions before the first game and one before the second game.”

The coach noted the history of competiveness between the teams.

“It is a big rivalry, and as we say, there are no friendlies in football. When you play for Jamaica, you are a target for any club in the Caribbean, and Trinidad will be a big target for us also.”

McClaren, who on Thursday announced the 28-man squad for both games, stated that he is looking forward to facing newly appointed Trinidad and Tobago Head Coach Dwight Yorke. McClaren is a former assistant coach of English Premier League giants Manchester United, while Yorke was a celebrated striker at the club.

“It is going to be difficult to prepare, especially for the first game, because we don’t know… what formation [they will play with], so we just have to focus and concentrate on ourselves and our squad,” he said.

“When he [Yorke] got the job, I had a quick chat with him, and I think it is fantastic for Concacaf and for the Caribbean. I think he is a big coach, and he did very well when he was in Australia. Coming back into this scene, it is great to see,” McClaren stated.

The Jamaica coach is also urging fans to turn out in large numbers and support the local players in both games against the Trinidadians.

“There is massive interest from what I have heard from the local supporters, so we want everybody to turn up and make this a special occasion for the two camps, the one in Montego Bay and the one in Kingston,” he said. “It is a perfect time for people from around the island to see these players for the first time.”

— Robert Bailey

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Shaquan Davis, Benjamin Williams, Joshua Grant, Jahmali Waite.

Defenders: Richard King, Fitzroy Cummings, Gadail Irving, Christopher Ainsworth, Robino Gordon, Kyle Ming, Stephen Young, Jeovanni Laing, Sue-Lae McCalla, Maliek Howell.

Midfielders: Jashshaun Anglin, Demario Phillips, Romeo Guthrie, Dwayne Atkinson, Shamar Watson, Nathaniel Howe, Daniel Green.

Forwards: Warner Brown, Kimani Arbourne, Ranaldo Biggs, Shaneil Thomas, Raheem Edwards, Kimoni Bailey, Jalmaro Calvin.