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Former England and Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor has been asked by Head Coach Bertille St.Clair to join his technical team as a technical consultant.
Taylor readily agreed and and had a final meeting with St Clair and other members of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation including special adviser Jack Warner on Saturday before departing for London. Taylor has been in Trinidad as a member of a high-powered panel of experts who conducted the CONCACAF/FA Media Relations Seminar which ended on Saturday at the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence.

“This has come about through the longstanding friendship I have with Bertille St Clair which obviously dates back to the time I signed Dwight (Yorke), Since then he has been over to England on a number of occasions and we have kept in contact.. Because of the large amount of players from this country that are across in the United Kingdom, Bertille has kindly asked me if I can monitor these players, make connections with them and observe how they are playing and discuss with him how they are doing at the time,” Taylor explained as to his immediate role to TTFF Media on Saturday.

“I am pleased to have come on board and I feel proud that Bertille has asked me to do this,” Taylor added. “What is important about this too is that the Federation has supported this call by Bertille and this is extremely important because I am in the business of helping the coach of the National side who is Bertille St Clair , who is also my friend,” said Taylor who is currently also a BBC football correspondent. St Clair was quick to express his satisfaction with Taylor’s acceptance and is keen for him to be part of the Soca Warriors’ “Journey to Germany” campaign.

“I am happy that Graham has accepted my offer,” St Clair said. “He is a great coach who has an eye for the game and especially for players and this is vital because while a player might be playing away, I cannot be there to see how he’s doing at the moment .This is where Graham can help us out. At the moment we have some immediate plans and when the next round comes around we will be building on that.”

St Clair is scheduled to travel to England in early December for further meetings with Taylor and to finalize his role. He will also meet with T&T’s UK-based players .

With the final round of qualification slated to begin on February , Taylor recognizes that time is of essence and has already stated his plans of establishing relationships with the UK-based players upon his return to England and he is already in possession of videos of the country’s recent matches.

“It just so happens that such a high percentage of the footballers that represent the country are playing professionally in the UK and by having my input now is a step we have taken in trying to get Trinidad and Tobago to the next World Cup.

.“We will be able to discuss certain views and strategies during this tenure. I am already in possession of tapes of some of the recent matches so I have an idea of how the team is playing and particularly the UK-based players. ,” Taylor added.

“I feel honoured to have been given the role of technical consultant and I am sure Bertille feels the same way “

He also mentioned that among his intentions will be taking advantage of his relationships with some of the managers of the UK clubs as a way of breaking down some of the animosity present between country and club, at the same time taking unnecessary pressure off the players.

Warner meantime said he was in total backing of the St Clair and Taylor combination.

“I am thrilled with this latest development. I repeat that the only way for Trinidad and Tobago to succeed has to be through a collective effort and Bertille deserves full credit for adopting this approach.. I am happy that we now have someone in England with a fine vision and ability to advise who we can rely on,” said Warner who hinted that at the request of St.Clair ,plans are being finalized for the appointment of a United States-based consultant who will deal with players of all age groups in that country.

With the final semi-final round encounter against St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on November 17, St Clair is continuing preparations and has indicated that he will be taking nothing for granted. A full-strength team of available players will be selected and some of the overseas-pros will begin arriving this coming week while the local-based pros have maintained their training schedule under St Clair.