Lincoln "Tiger" Phillips, the former technical director of Trinidad and Tobago football, is writing his autobiography and expects to release it soon.
This is one of the projects the outstanding former Trinidad & Tobago goalie has been involved with since being stripped of the technical director post by the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation (TTFF). Phillip recently did an interview on the socawarriors.net website in which he spoke to reporter Inshan "Flex" Mohammed.
Seven years ago, Phillip left the USA and returned to T&T to take up the technical director's post on the invitation of former FIFA vice-president and TTFF adviser Jack Warner. Formerly, he had worked with the United States Soccer Federation. Recently, however, Phillip was released by the TTFF.
"It is true that my contract with the TTFF will not be renewed," Phillip admitted. "I had a three-year contract from 2004 through 2007 and then a series of one-year contract extensions based on mutual interest. For this year, I made the conscious decision not to seek an extension, and in April of this year, the federation notified me of their decision."
He added: "When Jack sold me on the idea in 2004 that in his opinion T&T could qualify for the World Cup for the first time, I packed up my bag and put my life on hold in order to accomplish that initial goal.
"Having met that goal, I embarked upon a vision of having every T&T team qualify for a FIFA tournament by 2014, We've been able to qualify the U-17 and U-20 men's teams. The U-23s are left to fill the remaining void on the men's side."
Despite recent developments Phillip said he appreciated the opportunity to advance the game in Trinidad and Tobago. He was particularly pleased with the first three years as technical director when his portfolio allowed him to play a key role in the areas of both player development and coaching development. Although no longer with the TTFF, Phillip indicated that he may be back in football very soon.
"There are a few options I am reviewing in T&T and in the U.S. There were preliminary discussions with SPORTT that seemed to present opportunities to engage in establishing a comprehensive grassroots-based player development programme for primary school youth and to continue the "D" license coaching programme in a manner that would have provided the resources needed to include a continuing education structure so the licenses could not only be renewed, but also supplemented with course hours at UWI.
"I'm also looking at the possibility of conducting goalkeeper-training courses across the Caribbean. With my immediate family in the U.S., I'm certainly considering some interesting proposals there as well. However, regardless of where I end up, I will always be willing to lend my support and resources to programmes and coaches who are often overlooked, but play a vital role in developing our players and future coaches, " Phillip said.