Trinidad and Tobago will revert to training at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday and Saturday because of the unready state of the Queens Park Oval to facilitate the teams preparations.
The Warriors have trained twice this week at the Oval, venue for the February 9 World Cup qualifier against the United States, but have done so on an unmarked field and coach Bertille St Clair wants to engage in some tactical training which he prefers to do at the Stadium because of its current readiness.
In saying that, the team has made good use of the Oval venue thus far and will tackle Haiti there on Tuesday from 3:30pm, the same time as the February 9 encounter.
We are getting that much closer to the date and the kind of things we want to work on in practice is not possible on a field that is not yet ready for a game. The training goes on though, St Clair told TTFF Media. I think that we have been getting a good response from the players and it shows that while there are some things to be worked on still, the drive to do well is there and that is a plus for us.
Defender Keyeno Thomas has returned from a hamstring injury and a slight bother to Marlon Rojas hamstring should not affect his training but Kerwyn Jemmott is not fully ready after picking up a similar problem against St Vincent and the Grenadines. Team trainer David Cumberbatch and physiotherapist Zeph Nicholas have been keeping a close eye on the players to ensure that the fitness rate is up going into the upcoming matches.
Meantime, Cornell Glen could be coming face to face with his new Dallas FC striking teammate Eddie Johnson on Ash Wednesday. The 20-year-old is coming off a bright start to his USA team career with five goals in three matches, including a hattrick in USAs 6-0 win over Panama last year. Of his five goals, four of those goals came in just 45 minutes of play during his first two matches as a substitute.
Hes obviously a dangerous young player which we on the national team will be warned to not look at carefully, Glen said. He is my new teammate at Dallas but come Ash Wednesday I think all of us know its going to be serious business out on the pitch and I have to ensure that my game is right up on the day.
While St Clair is working hard at getting the best out of home-based players as Michael Celestine, Denzil Theobald, Conrad Smith, Atiba Charles, Derek King, Marlon Rojas, Nigel Pierre and others, Scottish-based midfielder Brent Rahim is also trying to keep himself in good form. The former West Ham United player struck in the 31st minute in Falkirk Reserves 5-0 win over Gretna on Monday and is working hard to improve his chances of a first team pick as Falkirk near Premier League promotion.
"It's been an up and down season for me both with club and country but hopefully now things will keep getting better. I have been working hard during the winter break and my confidence is growing and I know for sure I can bounce back. The club has kept faith in me and I intend to show up myself as we get closer to promotion," Rahim said. "Hopefully I can do the same for the national team as well." The stiff competition for selections should be timely one for St Clair.