Andy Williams is tackled by Vancouver Whitecaps' Jordan Harvey.

FLORIDA, United States:

Jamaican footballers will have to toughen up if they want to secure professional contracts in North America's Premier League.

While it is generally acknowledged by Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs that players from the island are skilful and physically impressive with abundance of speed and agility, questions linger over whether or not Jamaicans are able to meet other demands of the professional game.

According to former Jamaica international Andy Williams, recently appointed chief scout of Real Salt Lake (RSL), the key ingredient MLS clubs are seeking is mental toughness.

"Physically, (Jamaicans are) ready," Williams said while attending the recent MLS Combine, a series of trial games used by clubs to evaluate players leaving colleges in the United States and eyeing pro careers. "Mentally, they might be not ready, you know.

"They're not used to coming in and working two, three hours a week back-to-back and then having a quality 90-minute game on the weekend. So, it's gonna take some adjusting, once they get here. But once the mental aspect and the work ethic is good, they should be fine here."

Williams, now 34, is proof that the transformation is possible. Despite a 14-year MLS career, playing for six different teams including the final four with RSL, which won the MLS Cup in 2010, he once carried the tag of being a talented but lazy player. He acknowledged the fact that he did not care much for excessive physical workouts early in his career. But moving to RSL, where the playmaker was forced to execute offensive and defensive responsibilities with equal effort or risk losing his spot on the roster, Williams rededicated himself to better preparation. His image around the league was transformed.

"For the last four years for me," he said laughing.

He changed because the game changed.

"Back in the days, in the '90s, you would have a playmaker who all he had to do was get the ball and attack," Williams explained.

"He didn't have to defend.

"The last five years, six years, that has changed. Even in international football, you don't have a one guy who just does the playmaking. You have to be up and down, running all over the field."

Good news is, according to Williams, Jamaicans already appear to be stepping up to the challenge. The number of players in MLS with Jamaican connections has grown steadily in recent years. More appear to be finding the correct combination of physical and mental readiness.

"I haven't heard (the laziness talk) of any of the younger guys, even on the national team right now," said Williams.

"I think, so far, the Jamaican players I've seen over the past three, four years, they've been more tending towards that (proper work ethic)."

It would be to their benefit. With opportunities to play in Europe, the general first choice destination for Jamaican pro prospects being harder to find, the MLS, though less lucrative, offers another outlet. Furthermore, Williams added, if he could make the change, anyone can.

"That willingness to put in extra, even for me, when I was growing up, I didn't want to do it," he said.

"(But) Anybody can do it, trust me," he added laughing. "I didn't do it 'til I was what, 30, 'til 29, 30."