Trinidad and Tobago head coach Leo Beenhakker will make a decision by the beginning of next week on his selection of players to represent this country at the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States next month.
Beenhakker is likely to take a 20-man squad to Ft Lauderdale from May 27 for a training camp ahead of T&T’s opening fixture against Honduras on July 6 and he sees the upcoming three Group stage matches as useful warm ups before the second half of T&T’s final round World Cup qualifying campaign. The provisional list released by CONCACAF is not an indication of T&T’s squad for the tournament as Beenhakker may have other options as well.
The team’s progress within the last month was also evident in the latest FIFA World Rankings released which showed a four-place jump for the “Warriors” to 58th spot.
The Dutch-born coach also held a meeting with goalkeeper Clayton Ince on Tuesday but there has been no indication of an automatic reinstatement for the Crewe Alexandra custodian following his late call for leave from the team before it headed off to Monterrey last Monday for the qualifier against Mexico.
Ince has since stated that he wants to return to the team but Beenhakker is yet to say whether he will consider him for the Gold Cup. Team manager Bruce Aanensen stated that there has been no indication from Beenhakker on whether Ince will be in the Gold Cup squad, though adding that “the coach has indicated that the door is not closed on him”.
“There’s a big advantage for us now with the Gold Cup at this stage of our campaign because at least it gives me a chance to work with the guys for at least a couple weeks. I think we can make good preparations out of the first three matches. Of course our intention is to win but the bigger picture is obviously the World Cup and we will use this to build ourselves into an even better team,” Beenhakker told TTFF Media.
Team skipper Dwight Yorke has spoken of there “ being a good attitude and togetherness among the guys,” which obviously Beenhakker wants to maintain whether there may be one or two changes to the team for matches coming up.
Yorke has held open discussions with players in front of team officials on terms and conditions and this gone down well with those concerned.
“The team is enjoying a good momentum right now and we intend to keep this up right until the end of the campaign. I think we will be an even far better prepared team for the next match,” Yorke said.
In related news, striker Hector Sam has been offered a new deal by Wrexham and is expected to let them know this week whether he will in fact continue his career at the club.
Sam was second half substitute in T&T's 2-0 loss to Mexico on Wednesday and returned to London along with some of his other teammates following the match.
Sam, scorer of 12 goals for the club last season including a hattrick against Oldham Athletic, has been made the new offer and according to agent Mike Berry, should make a decision soon on whether he will stay there. Teammate Dennis Lawrence is still attached to Wrexham but Carlos Edwards has already left the club, taking up a new offer from Championship League side Luton Town.