Source: Trinidad Guardian
No one was more disappointed than Stern John with last Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier loss to the United States.
The Coventry City striker is the leading goalscorer for T&T in international matches.
The Warriors are now faced with a must win situation when they host Guatemala at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on September 3.
John is willing to play whatever role he is assigned to see the team progress, even if it means coming off the bench.
“Everyone was disappointed with the way we started and the way we lost,” John said.
“We gave ourselves a mountain to climb with the first goal and we panicked after that. You could see that by the way we just kept giving the ball away.
“We conceded a stupid goal and we paid the price and hopefully we can learn from this and pick ourselves again. We have done it before, but now is when it matters the most.
“The next few weeks will be the most critical of our careers,” John concluded.
Commenting on his substitution in the second half, replaced by Kenwyne Jones, John didn’t take it in bad stride.
“I ran about the pitch but it wasn’t enough. The service wasn’t coming our way and it showed that when Dwight dropped back into the middle our game changed a bit.
“But now it’s not about Stern John anymore. It’s about what’s best for the team and the country getting to the World Cup.
“I was disappointed about the performance when I went off. I think any manager will be disappointed with any player who comes off the pitch because he knows he can do better.
“All we needed was just one chance. We have strikers who can score goals in myself, Kenwyne and Dwight, but the service wasn’t there.
“We just need to work on that... get more balls into the box.
“We missed Carlos with the crosses. At least I think Dwight needs to play in the middle because he’s more into the game playing behind the strikers.
“All in all, I think we have what it takes to come back stronger than before. The game itself showed Kelvin (Jack) was brilliant and Silvio Spann had a good game in the right back position.
“Brent (Sancho) was also really good for us when he came on. But we need more than four or five players to do better, including myself, if we are to get results.”
John was not in the Coventry team which defeated Queen’s Park Rangers 3-0 on Saturday.
