Paul Clarke, Star Writer
Western Bureau:

Hosts Jamaica bow into action this evening in the battle of former champions when they take on Martinique in the feature match of a Group B double-header at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, in the 2014 Caribbean Cup.

The opening game will see another former winner, 2007 champions, Haiti taking aim at the rapidly improving Antigua and Barbuda.

Jamaica's under-pressure coach Winfried Schäfer needs a win in order to stave off calls for his sacking, so starting with victory this afternoon is paramount for the coach.

He describes the encounter with just four words.

"We need to win."

Schäfer, whose tenure as the Reggae Boyz head coach has come in for scrutiny as a result of a series of poor results, said the team has been training well and that they are ready to take on Martinique.

"A couple of our players came in late, including midfielder Rudolph Austin and the other England-based players, but they have settled in already and are with the team in training," Schäfer said.

The Reggae Boyz will no doubt start slight favourites, but they know well that only a victory will appease local supporters.

attacking strength

Schäfer thinks the team strength is in attack, where they boast the likes of Vancouver Whitecap's Darren Mattocks, Craig Foster (Reno FC), Deshorn Brown (Colorado Rapids), Michael Seaton (D.C. United).

"Our strength is in the forward line. We have some good quality all round, but I think that it is where we are strongest because they all are skilful also," said Schäfer.

"We cannot afford to lose the first match; that would be disastrous, so we are going to be positive and play good football. Hopefuly we take the three points," Schäfer added.

The last time the countries met in the Caribbean Cup it ended in a 0-0 draw, in 2012. Since then, the Boyz have seen their from fluctuate and have slumped in the FIFA Coca-Cola word rankings, plummeting to 113th.

Martinique's head coach, Louis Marie-Anne, meanwhile believes this current squad can get the job done, admitting that he is cautiously optimistic of his team's chances against the host.

"It is very important not to start on the wrong foot," he said, "A number of our players were born in France and we brought them in to augment our local-based players."

"The downside to this is that we have not played a competitive match with this mix before, so going up against Jamaica will be an important test of our readiness," said Marie-Anne.

"We are expecting a good game and I hope at least that if we do not win, we draw."

Martinique have appeared in 12 Caribbean Cup final rounds, and have won their first and only Caribbean Cup title in 1993. In that tournament, which was ironically in Jamaica, Martinique defeated the hosts 6-5 on penalties in the final.

Today's matches:

Haiti vs Antigua and Barbuda at 5:30 p.m.

Jamaica vs Martinique at 8:00 p.m.