Raymond Tim Kee, president of T&T Football Association (T&TFA) says there is no need to panic over the ongoing contract negotiations with Soca Warriors coach Stephen Hart.
The 55-year-old Hart, a former Canada national coach is currently without a contract after his two-year deal with the T&TFA expired at the end of the 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup in the USA in July where he led the Soca Warriors to the quarterfinals before they were ousted 6-5 on penalty kicks by Panama after a 1-1 draw,
It was the second straight time Hart had carried the team to the quarterfinals after losing to Mexico, 1-0 in 2013 after being in the job for a month while his last international outing in charge of the team on September 4, was a 3-3 draw against Concacaf Gold Cup champions, Mexico at the Rio Tinto Stadium, in Salt Lake, Utah, USA.
It was also the second straight high scoring draw between both teams, after a pulsating 4-4 draw in the Concacaf Gold Cup round-robin group stage.
Overall, Hart now has a record of 12 wins, nine loses and five draws in 26 matches,
Contacted on Tuesday, Tim Kee said, “Up to yesterday (Monday), the general secretary of the T&TFA Sheldon Phillips and I had meetings with our legal representatives and coach Hart with respect to the details of the contract and everything is going to plan.”
However, Tim Kee was quick to point out there were certain specifics within the contract he was able to make full commitment on as yet because it depended on the support and partnership with major sponsors and stakeholders.
Tim Kee said one thing that was certain was that he would not make any promises that he or the T&TFA would be unable to keep.”
The T&TFA boss also hinted at having the entire technical staff on board full-time as compared to Hart's previous two-year stint, when he was the only coach of member of staff being paid as a full-time staff.
He said, “We are trying to have the full technical staff on board as full-time staff and we are continuing to work towards this with our stakeholders and hopefully we will have everything sorted out shortly.
“But at the moment we are not in a hurry and coach Hart has stated he is comfortable with the situation, so I see no need for any sides to panic.”