Trinidad and Tobagos senior footballers went through an intense two and a half hour training session in sweltering heat at the Queens Park Oval on Tuesday morning.
Head coach Bertille St Clair began proceedings with a team talk ahead of the practical work which saw assistant coach David Nakhid working specifically with the midfielders and defenders while St Clair worked on finishing with the strikers.
The squad was mostly made up of locals with the likes of defenders Anton Pierre and Marlon Rojas, two of the more improved players in recent times, interim captain Derek King, midfielder Denzil Theobald, Jose Luis Seabra, Angus Eve, Kerry Baptiste, Stephen Cruickshank, Michael Celestine, Conrad Smith, Daurance and Jan Michael Williams among others involved. US-based players Cornell Glen, Avery John, Leslie Fitzpatrick and Gary Glasgow were also present.
Pierre of Defence Force felt the session went well particularly as the team is now getting to train on the Oval surface. And getting his personal game in order is also his main aim these days.
The session went pretty decent. It was tough out there for the guys in the sun but its similar conditions to what we will be playing in on Ash Wednesday and the coach is rightly trying to ensure that we get it all right for the big day, Pierre said. Im not going to get too confident but I think I can safely say that I am feeling better these days and hopefully I can make a valuable contribution to the team in the matches to come.
Assistant coach David Nakhid was impressed with the showing from the players at the session.
It was an excellent session and I was very impressed with the attitude of the players. The commitment is there which is important because that shows that everyone wants to be a part of it, Nakhid told TTFF Media.
The conditions were suitable as well and we were able to work on fitness and different segments of the team from midfielder to defense and attack.
Being able to work closer with some of the players with fellow assistant Ron La Forest close by, Nakhid added: It was good to be involved in this regard and generally it is good for the team with a specialized sort of training. We were able to have a look at the Oval because I know this venue well but some of the present players may not and it is important that we get accustomed to it. We will not take long to adapt to it.
Meantime, former Joe Public defender Keyeno Thomas has recovered from a hamstring strain and will rejoin the team in training on Wednesday at the same venue which will see T&T taking on Haiti in the first of two friendlies next Tuesday from 3:30pm. The two team will meet again at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on February 3 from 6pm.