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No English Boyz... Whitmore overlooks England-based players for DCC
Audley Boyd, Associate Editor - Sports FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida:
JAMAICA will not be calling on the services of any of its England-based professionals in their quest to retain the Digicel Caribbean Cup (DCC).
The finals of the regional championship - consisting of eight teams - will run from November 26 to December 5 in Martinique.
"No England-based player will be included for the Digicel Caribbean
Cup," revealed Theodore Whitmore, head coach of the Reggae Boyz, prior to his team's last warm-up match before the championship against Costa Rica at the Lockhart Stadium last night.
"The players we're using for the DCC are the players we've been looking on over the past couple of months now," Whitmore added.
The Jamaican coach also said that despite not having several of those top players, which include Stoke City striker Ricardo Fuller, his team is 'capable' of retaining their Caribbean title.
"I think we have a team capable of winning the DCC not only on paper, but we have to just go out there and achieve," he noted.
Continuing, Whitmore said despite the drop in competition, they would not be taking their Caribbean opponents lightly.
Serious approach
"We want to approach the DCC like we're playing against Argentina," he said.
A former Reggae Boyz captain and two-goal World Cup hero, Whitmore also pointed out that the 20-man selection for the regional tournament finals would follow the Costa Rica match, noting that that listing will also include two schoolboys.
"Every player here (in Fort Lauderdale) is under consideration for the DCC. After the game ... we'll select the final 20 players for the DCC," Whitmore stated.
He added: "We also have players who we haven't taken here - we have even young school players who will be added to the DCC squad as well."
Those schoolboys are St George's College's Marvin Morgan Jr and Clarendon College's Sergio Campbell.
Seasoned strikers Omar Cummings and Ryan Johnson number among the players who were not in the squad to face Costa Rica, but both will be included for the DCC.
"We have Cummings, we have Ryan Johnson ... we're going to take the best possible players to the DCC."
READY TO DEFEND TITLE
Cummings is preparing for the United States' Major League Soccer (MLS) championship showdown against the Los Angeles Galaxy with his club, Colorado Rapids, while Johnson was excluded to get some rest after playing in the MLS semi-finals on Sunday, with the San Jose Earthquakes. They were beaten by the Rapids.
Meanwhile, influential midfielder, Rodolph Austin, says he is ready to defend the title.
"I'm looking forward to it because I need to play and it's good to win the Caribbean Cup," said Austin. "It's always good to play in major championships because they're the ones that count and we're the defending champions. We have to just go out there and defend our title."
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...s/sports2.html
Audley Boyd, Associate Editor - Sports FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida:
JAMAICA will not be calling on the services of any of its England-based professionals in their quest to retain the Digicel Caribbean Cup (DCC).
The finals of the regional championship - consisting of eight teams - will run from November 26 to December 5 in Martinique.
"No England-based player will be included for the Digicel Caribbean
Cup," revealed Theodore Whitmore, head coach of the Reggae Boyz, prior to his team's last warm-up match before the championship against Costa Rica at the Lockhart Stadium last night.
"The players we're using for the DCC are the players we've been looking on over the past couple of months now," Whitmore added.
The Jamaican coach also said that despite not having several of those top players, which include Stoke City striker Ricardo Fuller, his team is 'capable' of retaining their Caribbean title.
"I think we have a team capable of winning the DCC not only on paper, but we have to just go out there and achieve," he noted.
Continuing, Whitmore said despite the drop in competition, they would not be taking their Caribbean opponents lightly.
Serious approach
"We want to approach the DCC like we're playing against Argentina," he said.
A former Reggae Boyz captain and two-goal World Cup hero, Whitmore also pointed out that the 20-man selection for the regional tournament finals would follow the Costa Rica match, noting that that listing will also include two schoolboys.
"Every player here (in Fort Lauderdale) is under consideration for the DCC. After the game ... we'll select the final 20 players for the DCC," Whitmore stated.
He added: "We also have players who we haven't taken here - we have even young school players who will be added to the DCC squad as well."
Those schoolboys are St George's College's Marvin Morgan Jr and Clarendon College's Sergio Campbell.
Seasoned strikers Omar Cummings and Ryan Johnson number among the players who were not in the squad to face Costa Rica, but both will be included for the DCC.
"We have Cummings, we have Ryan Johnson ... we're going to take the best possible players to the DCC."
READY TO DEFEND TITLE
Cummings is preparing for the United States' Major League Soccer (MLS) championship showdown against the Los Angeles Galaxy with his club, Colorado Rapids, while Johnson was excluded to get some rest after playing in the MLS semi-finals on Sunday, with the San Jose Earthquakes. They were beaten by the Rapids.
Meanwhile, influential midfielder, Rodolph Austin, says he is ready to defend the title.
"I'm looking forward to it because I need to play and it's good to win the Caribbean Cup," said Austin. "It's always good to play in major championships because they're the ones that count and we're the defending champions. We have to just go out there and defend our title."
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...s/sports2.html
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