Wim Rijsbergen, coach of the Soca Warriors, praised their efforts in the two friendly international matches against St Vincent and the Grenadines and Panama, despite the off field dispute with the T&T Football Federation.
“It was not a very easy match to play, but at the same time I don’t think it was a difficult one either. “We started off playing just like Panama, with the long balls in the air, and it took us a while to settle down. All this could be put down to having some new players in the team, as they had to take a while to get adjusted to the match.
“The new guys needed to get familiar with the pace of the Panama team, because they are different to St Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Asked his views on the dispute over bonuses between the World Cup players and the T&TFF, Rijsbergen said he thinks the players coped well.
“The meetings between the players and the T&TFF started from the first day the players arrived for the matches, so it was not a matter of one conversation with the federation.
“I must tell you though, I felt they (players) did very well in the training sessions and then in the two matches.
“It’s very tough to separate things, so hopefully they can solve the problem with the T&TFF. “My job is to try and get them ready for the next match, which is against Austria on November 15 and hopefully the next time the players gather all the talk will only be about football.” Responding to a question about the style of football he would like to see from his players, Rijsbergen replied:
“It all depends on the intelligence of the guys.
I have seen a lot of games in England where, if a teams plays the long ball you have to try and break their rhythm and that can only be done by gaining a lot of possession.
“Tonight (Wednesday) that was not part of our game. The guys all know they have to improve and we will do that first in training and then on the field of play.”
As to the seriousness of the injury to striker Kenwyne Jones, scorer of T&T’s first goal, he coach said: “Jones is a tough boy. He is young. Normally it takes about 48 hours to really determine the seriousness of these kinds of injuries. Hopefully it is not that serious and he will be going back to his club in the next couple of days.”
John satisfied with 100th appearance
Stern John, captain of the Soca Warriors on his 100th appearance for his country, said he was not happy with the way the guys play, but glad for the victory.
John, scorer of a record 67 goals for T&T, said: “Under the current circumstances, the guys gave a good account of themselves.
“We did not play a bad game and we got the result we wanted.”
Asked how he felt about making 100 appearances for the national team, the Coventry striker said: “Growing up as a youngster if anyone had said to me that I would play 100 times for my country. I would have said thanks. For me it’s a big milestone.” How did he feel about leading the team on his 100th appearance for T&T?
“As a player. leading your team onto the pitch is a tremendous feeling and hopefully I will be able to do it again.
“But even if I don’t, it’s still a pleasure to be part of the team and represent your country.” His tally of goals is almost double that of the next highest T&T goalscorer. It puts him among the top ten in world football.
“Every time I step onto the field I feel that I can score. I don’t really focus on records, if and when they happen, then so be it.
“Once the team I am part of plays together that’s what really matters to me. “Probably when my time comes to retire, I will sit down and reflect on what I have achieved, he added.
On the dispute with the T&TFF and the World Cup players, John said, “As far as we see it, we have another meeting tomorrow (yesterday). We were in conversation with the other players who are still in Europe earlier in the week, to give them an update on what has taken place, but nothing has been resolved as yet."