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( l - r ) Colombia's head coach Leonel Alvarez. Jamaica's head coach Theodore Whitmore. - file
SUNRISE, Florida:
Senior national football coach Theodore Whitmore has shrugged off suggestions that his job performance may be under added scrutiny, insisting he is feeling no pressure going into tonight's game against Colombia in the United States, despite the Reggae Boyz' current run of three consecutive losses.
"No one likes to lose," Whitmore said yesterday at the team's hotel here, "but I've never felt under pressure."
Jamaica will be hoping to end the losing streak in the friendly international, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. Jamaica time) at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, against a tough, in-form South American opponent.
However, while Whitmore said he understands top level football is a "result oriented" business, where the coach is judged on his record of wins and losses, he believes the recent series of games, including a 2-0 loss to the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June, a 1-0 August 10 defeat to China and a 5-2 thrashing by Ecuador last Friday, is serving as valuable preparation for Jamaica's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, which begins next year.
Whitmore is using the games to evaluate many players, some who have played at the senior level before, others like Errol Stevens and Ewan Grandison, who are new faces.The time is now, the coach explained, to put the necessary building blocks in place, although he said he has not lost sight of the damaging effects consistent losing can have on Jamaica's world ranking and the country's ability to secure quality match opponents in the future.
"It's a work in progress," said Whitmore, who has been through several qualifying campaigns as both player and coach. "We have to feed the main objective, but at the same time we have to keep up the FIFA ranking as well. It's something we have looked on and it's something we have addressed."
Tonight's game will offer some proof if the message is getting through. Whitmore admitted Jamaica did not play well against Ecuador, especially in the first half. The high altitude in Quito was blamed as a significant problem. But Whitmore was not pleased with the "attitude" of some players.
Tonight's team will be minus a couple players from the Ecuador trip, but veterans such as Jason Morrison, Omar Daley, Jermaine Taylor and Lovel Palmer have joined the squad here. They will look to help out fellow experienced players like Demar Phillips and Omar Cummings, the duo responsible for Jamaica's goals against Ecuador, plus captain Shavar Thomas, Adrian Reid, Rodolph Austin, Ryan Johnson and Dane Richards.
Colombia are currently in good form, extending from the Copa America championships this summer where they beat Bolivia and Costa Rica and drew with Argentina before losing to Peru. Last Saturday, Colombia blanked Honduras 2-0. Jamaica beat Honduras 1-0 in the Gold Cup on June 13, the last time the Boyz tasted victory. They are anxious to resume winning ways tonight.
"We want to make winning a habit," said Thomas." So the players know what to do. And what better way to do than against Colombia."
However, Colombia, ranked 35th in the world by football's governing body FIFA, to Jamaica's 43rd, are expected to provide a stiff challenge.
"We expect a hard game as usual," said Whitmore. "In this business we have no easy games and we have to play every game and get a positive result."
A lot is riding on it.
Jamaica's Dane Richards (right) in action against Ecuador's Juan Carlos Paredes during a friendly match against the hosts in Quito last Friday. Ecuador won 5-2. - AP
