Prominent English-based goalie Shaka Hislop says that he has no intentions of blocking the progress of some of the country’s other goalkeepers but has returned to the national team due to his commitment to making a contribution to the qualifying effort towards Germany 2006.
Hislop is promising a T&T squad with a yearning desire to win come Sunday against St Kitts/Nevis at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium.
“It’s always exciting and always an honour to come and play for the country. It’s going to be two tough games but we won’t back down from the challenge,” Hislop told TTFF Media. “We obviously want to win the game and win it well. St Kitts are going to be coming hard at us and they are not going to be any push overs. It’s a game that I believe we should win but we can only do it once we approach it the correct way and that is to be disciplined and on target at the same time. If we approach the game any other way we could be in some problems.”
About his return to the squad, the former Newcastle United man said he was willing to answer the call, but will not prolong his stance in goal for T&T if it means blocking the way of other potential ‘keepers.
“In all fairness I won’t be around much longer. We have too much talent at depth and I am far too old to go on for too long. We have three fantastic‘keepers in Kelvin Jack whose injured at the moment, Clayton Ince and young Duarance Williams who has shown great promise. I’ve said that I will play what role I can or should. I certainly don’t want to stand in anyone’s way.” It’s no secret that Hislop brings more than just a safe pair of hands to the team as his leadership ability is highly rated and as to what aspect he could contribute as other than just a ‘keeper, he replied “That’s obviously up for debate because I’m still a player and my career is going to come to an end shortly and then I could then concentrate on what differences I can make off the pitch. Until I retire from playing I’m not going to give that too much thought. I feel as though I don’t have much left in my career but I’m still here for some reason. I will continue to contribute how and whenever I can. I am still enjoying my football and that is a major plus. Money has never been my motivation. I hope I’ll never stop enjoying the game and I hope when that time comes it’s a result of physical reasons. I’ve always said that if I stopped smiling then I’m finished but I can assure you that smile is still on my face,” Hislop ended. He will fly out with the T&T team on Monday for the clash with Mexico in Puebla two days later. Before that he will train with the T&T team again at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium on Saturday before taking the field for action.