PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – If Trinidad and Tobago Sports Minister Anil Roberts had his way, national football coach Otto Pfister would be out of his US$50 000 per-month job.
“Of course he (Pfister) should be removed, but I’m not in control of that,” Roberts said.
“To me it’s clear once you understand the philosophy of coaching, elite coaches are paid to win and move forward and it does not matter whoever you are once you cannot make it you go, end of story.
He continued: I cannot and will not justify paying an elite level coach salary when we have no elite level competition.
“Whoever is the coach is for the T&TFF (national federation) to decide but all I can say is the Ministry of Sport is focusing on, development at this moment.”
The Germany-born Pfister came under fire from Roberts after T&T failed to reach the next round of CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Needing to avoid defeat to stay alive in the competition in the penultimate round of matches last Friday, T&T went down 2-1 to Guyana in Georgetown, to suffer elimination.
The defeat came on the heels of a shock 2-1 loss to Bermuda away in Hamilton last month, and followed an unconvincing 1-0 win over the Bermudians in the first leg at home in September.
Roberts said Pfister’s exorbitant price tag could not now be justified as the Ministry of Sports was changing focus.
“Pfister is a great coach but things just did not work out for him and the team and what I can say is the Ministry cannot justify that level of US$50 000 a month salary when we have now switched our focus to development mode,” Roberts contended.
“That level of salary is on the final path to greatness as a team to qualify for a World Cup and we have been knocked out from the top level of football, therefore we cannot justify paying the elite level coach.”
The 74-year-old Pfister was hired at the end of March after Russell Latapy was fired following T&T’s poor showing in the Digicel Caribbean Cup.
Pfister has led the squad in just six matches, one friendly against India and five World Cup qualifiers.
