The club cannot tell us you have a little problem and he was not injured from the last match - Schäfer

KANSAS CITY, Missouri:

Winfried Schäfer, head coach of Jamaica's senior men's football team, wants League Championship outfit Leeds United to show greater regard for the national programme.

This stems from a situation that appeared a bit sticky, which concerned the club's release of midfielder Rodolph Austin for international duty - Friday's CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying (WCQ) match between the Reggae Boyz and the United States, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m.

Such club vs country sagas are not strange in international football.

Austin is a key player for both outfits.

His Jamaica team, lying bottom of the six-nation final-round qualification, needs crucial points to maintain very faint hopes of advancing in CONCACAF WCQ.

His club, Leeds United, haven't made the best of starts either, lying 14th on 14 points after 11 matches. Burnley leads with 26 points, having also played 11 matches.

The central midfielder trained with the Reggae Boyz yesterday morning. It was the first national team training session since the group assembled in batches, here from different parts of the world, for Friday's crucial match. He also participated in the evening session.

After the morning session, journalists asked Schäfer about a 'little problem' concerning Austin's release.

Schäfer responded: "The club cannot tell us you have a little problem and he was not injured from the last match, he was not injured. He went back from our team after the match against Panama, he was out for Costa Rica (red card), he went back, he was fit.

"When he is injured, okay, but I know the club has problems at the moment: Leeds United lost many matches; maybe the coach wants him for the next match. Sorry, he has no respect for Jamaica," noted the German, who recently took over coaching duties of the Reggae Boyz, of Brian McLaren's team.

Schäfer, though, said he has no problems with the club holding on to its player if he is not fully fit and noted that he would ask his fitness and medical staff to do an examination on Austin later.

"When he is injured, okay," he remarked.

"I want to talk to our doctor and our physio, and if he's okay, that's fine."

Rodolph Austin