WATCH: Rudolph Speid undecided on future after failed World Cup bid
Jamaica’s senior men’s football head coach during the recent intercontinental World Cup play-offs, Rudolph Speid says he is undecided on whether he will continue to lead the Reggae Boyz.
Speid’s contract as head coach expired on Tuesday after being given the role on an interim basis last November following the departure of Steve McClaren.
While Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts wants Speid and his technical staff to continue, Speid says he is unsure of his future.
“I don’t know because you know one of the issues that I have is there are lots of things [I can do], I can change direction in my life tomorrow by doing something completely different from football,” Speid told journalists Wednesday after arriving with the team at the Norman Manley International Airport. “So, it’s not going to be such an easy decision. I’ll have some time off and then I will make that decision.”
He also declared he has no plans to return to the JFF’s technical committee, which he had chaired until his appointment as interim head coach.
“No,” he responded tersely when asked if he plans to return to the role.
“I’m satisfied with the amount of work I have done there, and you can see the benefits, the under-17s would have qualified for the World Cup, the under-20s doing extremely well etc, so I’m pleased with my job,” he added.
The national team returned to Kingston on Wednesday following their 0-1 loss to DR Congo in the final of the intercontinental play-offs at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, which saw them miss out on this summer’s tournament.
It was Jamaica’s last opportunity to be part of the global showpiece in the USA, Canada, and Mexico after missing out in last year’s final round of Concacaf World Cup qualifiers.