National men’s under-17 head coach Brian Joseph said that he expects Guyana to be competitive at the upcoming Caribbean Football Union (CFU) u-17 championships which is slated to commence in the Dominican Republic from July 18.
Speaking via telephone during an exclusive interview, Joseph said “I don’t know anything about the other teams in the tournament. I came in knowing in the past that the Guyana team has done fairly well at this level. “At the CFU level, there is no significant difference in quality and I think we will be able to compete with them. The realistic expectation of us is to do well and my main focus is to get the team to play to its potential,” he added.
Questioned about the criteria that will be utilized to select the touring party, Joseph said:“There were scouts that were at all the GFF inter-association games. The group that was selected was based on the recommendation of the scouts. From that group, we came up with what we think are the best players and the team will be selected based on the performances over the next two weeks.”
Asked what will be the main focus of the training camp, Joseph said:“The focus is on the preparation because of the limited time. The main thing we will be focusing on is the fitness which we started on a good note because of the performances yesterday. The guys did fairly well at the physical assessment test”.
He added:“When we get back into the camp, the focus will be on team organization as well as ensuring that we implement the style of play we want too. Because of the limited time there won’t be specific work on trying to improve technique but the technique work will be incorporated into the tactical work and our style of play.
“Obviously team bonding will also be a premium. We will also do a lot of work on the psychological aspect of the players which is very important especially since this is the first time for most of the players on a national team,” he said.
The 30-member Guyana squad, which was selected following the conclusion of the GFF Inter-Association tourney, will commence a two week training camp on July 5 prior to the team’s expected July 16 departure. The local side has been placed in group three which features Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and the host nation. On the management side, Chevon Monchoir will serve as assistant coach while Andre Hazel will act as goalkeeping coach. Completing the training staff in the capacity of physical trainer and physiotherapist respectively are Trevor Beckles and Charlene Henry.
