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Fri, Mar

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The emphasis on D Bench today will shift from the players who work tirelessly on the the field to someone who has the responsibility to make these players comfortable both on and off the pitch.

David Mohammed is the manager of the Soca Warriors who are aiming to make it two-out-of-two appearances in the World Cup, after reaching the 2006 finals in Germany.

Mohammed is relatively new to the position but he has shown, since taking up the job earlier in the year, that he has what it takes to carry T&T to South Africa 2010.

His basic functions are to arrange air and ground travel and hotel accommodation for the players. He also has to make arrangements for training sessions, keep a constant check of team records and make certain that the players are happy with the conditions under which they have to play.

“The bulk of the job deals with unforseen circumstances,” said Mohammed. “It is like a non-stop roller coaster and you deal with situations as they arise.”

Mohammed is assisted by a 12-member staff, which includes coach Francisco Maturana, of Colombia on the technical staff, administrative assistants and secretarial staff.

“My position is not really being responsible for the success of the team on the field,” he poined out. “That’s the job of the coach.”

“In T&T the Football Federation employ about 70 people and we all seek to offer the best for all the national teams,” Mohammed stated.

“There are challenging moments especially when playing in foreign countries where you don’t get full cooperation.”

Mohammed recalled that on the trip to Guatemala to play the all-important away qualifier “the Government locked us out of the stadium until the fee was paid when we went to train the day before the match”.

“The use of the facility was booked months before the match and it was a learning experience. I had to keep a cool head.

“You would require different methods at times to deal with different situations. I have a policy - under no circumstance whatsoever would we accept shabby or substandard treatment.”

Before becoming manager of the Soca Warriors, Mohammed said, he was the most relentless seeker of match tickets to see the national team play.

“I had not missed a singe match for the last three to four years prior to becoming manager of the national team,” stated the former schoolteacher.

Mohammed had also been a national speaker for a number of years doing speaking tours and had been on radio for the past 10 years. In addition, he did a series of mens’ only meetings around the country.

“I guess that every single one of those experiences assisted in some way,” added Mohammed, who has a degree in sociology and education.