STEVE McClaren, head coach of Jamaica’s national senior men’s team, the Reggae Boyz, has admitted he has a tough job in putting together a squad for the two upcoming World Cup qualifying games as well as the Concacaf Gold Cup, due to the depth and quality of players he has at his disposal.

Jamaica were beaten 5-4 on penalties by defending champions Nigeria in the Unity Cup final on Saturday at Gtech Community Stadium in West London, after coming from behind twice to hold the West Africans to a 2-2 draw in regulation time.

The squad for the upcoming assignments is due to be announced on Tuesday, and after Saturday’s game McClaren stated: “I’ve got a headache because so many people impressed me this week — [but] I’m delighted by that.”

When asked about his choice for wingers McClaren said, “Yes, it is an interesting conundrum that I have got,” pointing to regular starters Demarai Gray and Leon Bailey returning to the squad after an outstanding two games from Renaldo Cephas who featured in four of the five goals scored by Jamaica in the Unity Cup.

“We had Demarai Gray in St Vincent and we got Cephas in the team for the two games. I like wingers who have got speed, don’t come back, always going forward,” McClaren said before adding that he had seen the former Arnett Gardens striker on film before he took over the job.

“I thought: ‘Wow! What’s he [Cephas] doing on the bench?’ He was an impact player — and a very good one — and he’s grown and grown and, you know, he’s putting in the performance.

“This is what I like about the wingers: speed and good delivery, execution, and also do the defensive work. Yes it is an interesting conundrum that I have got because we have Gray coming in and we have got Leon Bailey as well; we have introduced other people as well. I was impressed with [Cavalier player Dwayne] Atkinson during training, and coming in; and [he] did a job, tough job on that right-hand side,” added the coach.

Add recent invitee Rumarn Burrell, who the coach described as “a big plus as well”, and he said they had number nines who, “want to run — and that’s the key thing”.

Jamaica will play away to the British Virgin Islands on June 7 and then return home to host Guatemala in World Cup second-round fixtures on Tuesday before the start of the Gold Cup six days later.

“I think we’ve shown that there’s depth in the squad. We have been searching for a long, long time for players coming in, so we’ve got that, and hopefully we’ll have more players coming in,” he said, “We have had players like [Malik] Mothersille, he only came to train with us Thursday and all of a sudden they said he could play, so he was on the bench and he gets his first cap for Jamaica so…that’s a real plus.”

McClaren says it might be hard to keep a number of the locally based players out of the squad as he said they had shown positive development, having grown and come together as a team.

“Sometimes that’s difficult but with the Jamaican players, they’ve got it inside them to bond very quickly. And that was a key thing, you know, to be organised, to be disciplined, to show fight and enough quality to win the game on Tuesday and nearly winning today,” McClaren stated.

With the final squads due by Tuesday, McClaren noted what he described as a quick turnaround, which he said added to the dynamics.

“[We have a] flight on Monday to Jamaica and have to pick the squad tonight or tomorrow, and it’s difficult because we’ve got five or six coming in and I’ve got to pick some from this camp, but it’s a nice thing to have. And I think, you know, if we didn’t give the JPL players a chance that we’ll be experiencing this. For me, that’s the most important thing: We’re trying to improve Jamaican football, not just globally and not just in the UK, but on the island too,” McClaren shared.

After the Concacaf Nations League loss to the USA, McClaren said they had to adapt.

“We’ve tried to do that and play to the strengths of the Jamaican players. As long as they be organised, stay disciplined, and fight for each other, we’ve got the talent and ability to hurt teams, as we saw today against, I gotta say, a very good Nigerian team of quality players who play around Europe and UK. And you see the way that they move the ball — they don’t give the ball away. For our team to deal with that was a credit,” McClaren added.

MCCLAREN…I’ve got a headache because so many people impressed me this week — [but] I’m delighted by that
(Garfield Robinson)

Jamaica’s Renaldo Cephas (left) was a standout player for Jamaica at the Unity Cup. Here he is seen in action against the USA during the first-leg Concacaf Nations League quarter-final football match at the National Stadium on November 14, 2024. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)