'I am comfortable, plus I can assure you that the appointment of Alfredo Montesso was my call, and I don't see where or even why there would be any attempt to push me in the corner'.

file - Theodore Whitmore

Andre Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

National senior coach Theodore Whitmore has given his backing to the recently appointed Brazilian coaching quartet led by Professor Walter Gama.

Whitmore, who first took the reins of the Reggae Boyz team in 2007 on an interim basis after the firing of Bora Milutinovic, has been sent into the shadows before; first when another Brazilian Rene Simoes replaced Milutinovic, and again when John Barnes took charge a year later.

Not this time, says the Jamaican, who welcomed the Brazilians with open arms while underlining his confidence in his own abilities on the Jamaican bench.

"Theodore Whitmore is in charge of the national senior team, assisted by Alfredo Montesso, and I have no concerns about being pushed aside or anything like that," said Whitmore, who went on to point out that it was he who suggested the appointment of his current assistant Alfredo Montesso, who replaced former assistant coach Bradley Stewart.

"I am comfortable, plus I can assure you that the appointment of Alfredo Montesso was my call, and I don't see where or even why there would be any attempt to push me in the corner," Whitmore added.

Gama has been assigned as technical director of the national programme with his son Luciano spearheading the Under-20 programme, as well as assisting his father in certain areas of the overall programme. Luciano will be assisted by Andrew Edwards while Joao Brigatti will serve as the goalkeeper coach along with Warren Barrett and Clive Wedderburn.

In addition to his roles with the senior team, Montesso will also take charge of the Under-23 Olympic team.

a lot to offer

"The appointment of the Brazilian coaches can only augur well for the overall development of the Jamaican football programme. We welcome them here and I am sure that they have a lot to offer to Jamaican football, a lot to offer to our local coaches and the overall development of the game here," Whitmore noted.

Since his appointment as head coach in June 2009, Whitmore has led Jamaica to 12 wins, two draws and six losses in his 21 matches in full control of the team, for a 57 per cent win record.

It's a record that he is looking to improve on this summer at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, and has focused all his energy towards his team's preparation that will start in short order in Brazil.

"The last Gold Cup we made some mistakes in terms of our preparations and we want to go into this Gold Cup well prepared so we called a camp in Brazil. So far everything is going well and we expect it to be positive," Whitmore noted.

"Basically, we had a training camp in the Cayman Islands and most of the players who were playing the Gold Cup weren't even part of it, so this time around only people who are participating in the camp will be at the Gold Cup, unless there are injuries or something like that."