English-based goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has described the appointment of Leo Benhakker as Head Coach of the Trinidad and Tobago Senior Team as “fantastic”. And he has preferred to focus on the “Warriors” future under Beenhakker rather than dwell on what may have been had Ron Atkinson been given the job.
“It’s a fantastic appointment,” Hislop told TTFF Media on Monday. “His resume speaks for itself and he brings that quality that we are looking for from a coach not only for the short term but also with the long term in mind.”
The former Newcastle United ‘keeper discarded thoughts of some that the appointment of Beenhakker may have come too late.
“I don’t think it has come too late because there is still a lot of hope. Despite the results so far, we can still take a lot from the recent games. We’ve had a couple of our better performances so far in matches where we did not get three points. In our last game against Costa Rica we showed a form of resilience which we had not before and we displayed that sort of determination not to concede which we lacked in the two previous games. What we really have to do now is start taking our chances. We missed far too many against Guatemala we had a couple that we should have really put away against Costa Rica.
“At the moment though, we have a lot to look forward to with the coming of the new coach which has given the team a breath of fresh air. We can definitely take a lot of heart from our last performance and now it’s a matter of turning them into results.”
Commenting briefly on statements made by Ron Atkinson that both he and Dwight Yorke should look into their consciences after claiming that the duo among other players turned against his appointment, Hislop made his feelings clear.
“I haven’t followed his comments in any type of detail but I am aware that he said that myself and Dwight need to examine our consciences. What I can say is that my conscience is clear and I can speak for Dwight and the other players as well. I don’t want to harp too much on that matter for a lot of reasons. I believe that we have the right man at the right time and now the focus should be on that and not on what could have been,” Hislop ended.
T&T midfielder Angus Eve shared the same sentiments.
“The appointment of the new coach is definitely a plus for us at this stage. There have been a lot of talk about what went on prior to his signing and whether in fact another coach was in line for the job. At the end of the day, a meeting was held with the players in which certain things were revealed and discussed and it ended with the appointment of the current coach of the team,” Eve said.
Scheduled to have arrived in Trinidad on Monday afternoon, Beenhakker, following several meetings, will conduct his first training session with the National Team at the Hasely Crawford Stadium from 4pm on Wednesday.
Please note that the Media is invited to a Media Briefing with Leo Beenhakker at the VIP Lounge, Hasely Crawford Stadium 2pm on Wednesday (And not Tuesday as stated in previous Release) to be followed by a training session.