Although Steve McClaren’s position as head coach of the national team is in question, former Reggae Boyz defender Damion “Stew Peas” Stewart and former Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Tony James say he should be supported ahead of the team’s crucial Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers.

McClaren’s reputation as Jamaica head coach took a major hit last month after crashing out of the Concacaf Gold Cup in the group stage, following defeats to Panama and Guatemala and a less than convincing win against lowly ranked Guadeloupe. It was the first time since 2009 that Jamaica failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the regional showpiece.

Many local supporters have called for the Englishman’s sacking, almost a year after taking the job. Several local supporters have petitioned for the Englishman’s dismissal nearly a year after he assumed the role.

Last Thursday, JFF President Michael Ricketts told the Jamaica Observer that a meeting would be held to determine the next steps, although there was no suggestion that McClaren would be dismissed.

Stewart, who made 60 appearances for the Reggae Boyz between 1999 and 2013, says replacing McClaren now wouldn’t change the team’s fortunes.

“To where we’re at right now, preparing for World Cup Qualifiers, I don’t see the need for a change,” Stewart told the Observer. “It’s just about getting the right group together. He’s searching and everything takes time and any coach that comes still has to go and search, so might as well work with him because he’s here.

“He’s coached at the highest level so his coaching ability shouldn’t be doubted; it’s just about putting the right squad together and getting them motivated to play properly for the country because the players are there.”

James, who led the JFF from 1985 to 1992, says the players should be held accountable for the recent performances.

“The coach has to take ultimate responsibility but I think there should be equal opportunity to blame the players [who] just didn’t perform,” James told the Observer. “We can’t keep changing coaches every year or every six months.

“If you look [at] “Tappa” Whitmore, Paul Hall, [Heimir] Hallgrimsson and now McClaren, you will see a trend that is team-based. What I mean by that is that we haven’t found a midfield that can function, we haven’t found forwards that can coordinate, and this Gold Cup was horrendous for the defence which is where you build a team from and we looked totally out of sorts. But we can’t change a coach every six months. [It’s up] to the JFF to analyse, see what went wrong and where they are going to correct.”

McClaren says he will continue his recruitment of UK and Europe-based players to add to the squad as they move into the final round of World Cup qualifying. However, Stewart, who had stints in England with Queens Park Rangers and Bradford City, says McClaren will need to be more strategic about the players he selects.

“I don’t mind recruiting from England but I think the players that come from the lower division will do more for Jamaica than the players that play in the higher divisions,” he said.

“Because the players in the lower divisions are good and just need to be seen, just like how Jamaican players need to be seen. Therefore, when they come, they’re coming to fight and prove that they can play amongst the best in the world. Some of them are already playing for a Premier League team or a top club, earning good money so it’s sometimes a holiday.”

Jamaica will need to top the all-Caribbean group of Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda to book their spot in next year’s FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

Both Stewart and James say McClaren and the team need strong support if they are to qualify.

“We as a nation can’t turn on the coach when we’re about to play World Cup Qualifiers,” Stewart said. “We as a nation have to back them and just do the right things to get in place. The nation needs us to qualify and if you watched the two games in England (Unity Cup), they never looked bad. We had to wake up and realise there’s no bad team in Concacaf any more so you have to be ready for every game so it’s better now than in the World Cup Qualifiers.”

James said, “One of our problems in Jamaica is that everything falls on the coach — we believe this mantra that a foreign coach is going to solve our problems. We have to get behind the team — as a nation, we have to support the team, which we aren’t doing. So there are many more factors before we reach McClaren.

“As a nation, we want to win things but it’s a much deeper requirement for support if we really want to be in the World Cup on a consistent basis. It’s the easiest thing to blame the JFF, but we as supporters have to look at ourselves; the Government has to look at supporting in a meaningful way whether in football or otherwise.”

Jamaica English Head Coach Steve McClaren looks on, ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Guatemala at the National Stadium on Tuesday, June 10. (Photo: AFP)