Stand-in national senior men’s football team Head Coach Merron Gordon would much rather be dissecting the performance of his inexperienced Reggae Boyz team against Ghana today but, as that game was cancelled, he is instead fully focusing on their next opponents Morocco on Tuesday.

However, he is upbeat about the opportunity that exists, especially for the local-based players in the team.

Jamaica are taking part in a four-nation mini tournament being played in Austria with the previously mentioned teams and Qatar, who will host the Fifa World Cup starting in November. The Ghanaians arrived in Austria Saturday.

With the games being played only in front of television cameras, Gordon is hoping that means less pressure for those who will be making their senior international debut.

“I think it’s a good way to start, especially for the ones not exposed to international football,” Gordon told the Jamaica Observer on Saturday. “The pressure of playing international football, plus having a full stadium, would be tough.”

Gordon is protective of the squad, but has warned the players they should take nothing for granted as Morocco, like Qatar — who they play on Friday — have qualified for the World Cup. He is also mindful of the possibilities for local players, especially as the summer transfer window is still open.

“These are big teams, so I have to be demanding a lot from the boys,” he said. “While you can take certain things for granted in our local Premier League, you can’t do that internationally because you will definitely pay.

“Don’t come here just because you were called. Talent brought you here and you need to prove to the world that you deserve to be here, but I don’t want us to put additional pressure on them.

“The boys are excited that they are gonna play against teams that are in the World Cup. That is awesome, especially for most of these boys who are making their senior debut. These are local boys who want to prove themselves. Pressure is on them naturally. So additional pressure, I think, we should try our best and keep off them, and hopefully people might just see one or two of them and they get contracts [with overseas clubs].”

Gordon says the technical staff made the most of the time during which the match should have been played by analysing videos with the team.

“Things are going really well,” he said. “We started to focus on some video work today and going right into the playing field tomorrow to do some tactical work for Morocco.

“We are conscious of the fitness level of the players, so we’re trying to do our best to use the advice from the medical team and the trainer. We’re using the science offered to us — the GPS and so on — to show how the players are recovering, how to share the workload with the rest time. Hopefully tomorrow we can start preparing for Morocco.”

Gordon, who has taken charge of the team in the absence of interim Head Coach Paul Hall, who is on club duty with Queens Park Rangers in the English Football League Championships, is in a similar position with these players, being in charge of an international team for the first time in his career. He is eager to make the most of the opportunity presented to him to grow as a coach.

“It’s always a pleasure to represent your country, especially as a head coach,” he said. “This is not my immediate ambition to become a head coach for this team. I want to continue to learn the craft, continue to be guided by people like Hall, and even to be mentored by people like Mr [Wendell] Downswell (the national technical director). Hopefully, in the future, if called upon, I’ll be ready and equipped with the skills to do this long term.

“It’s been a very good process for me so far, sharing the occasion with this local team, [and] they are very receptive and they try their best.”

Gordon did not want to get into detail about how he will approach Morocco, but is confident the atmosphere in the camp is good.

Senior defender Adrian Mariappa, who plays in Australia’s A-League, joins the camp today.

Jamaica squad

Kemar Foster (Waterhouse)

Amal Knight (Harbour View)

Eric Edwards (Arnett Gardens)

Ricardo Thomas (Waterhouse)

Ky-Mani Campbell (Waterhouse)

Richard King (Cavalier)

Nickoy Christian (Dunbeholden)

Adrian Mariappa (Macarthur FC)

Damani Osei (Santa Clara Broncos)

Maliek Howell (University of Memphis)

Earl Simpson (Arnett Gardens)

Tarick Ximines (Mount Pleasant)

Alwayne Harvey (Mount Pleasant)

Odean Pennycooke (Tivoli Gardens)

Denardo Thomas (Waterhouse)

Demario Phillips (Dunbeholden)

Fabion McCarthy (Dunbeholden)

Ramone Howell (Waterhouse)

Venton Evans (Greenville Triumph)

Shamari Dyer (Harbour View)

Oquassa Chong (Esbjerg FB)

Jevani Brown (Exeter City)

Nicholas Hamilton (Harbour View)

Colorado Murray (Harbour View)

Trayvone Reid (Harbour View)

Ronaldo Webster (Cavalier)

Jourdaine Fletcher (Gokulam Kerala)