The new head coach of the Saint Lucia men’s national football team, Rajesh Latchoo, is relishing tonight’s Concacaf Nations League matchup against Barbados at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground. He told St Lucia Times that he is delighted to see the leadership being shown by the senior players, in particular.
“Right now, I felt like it was about four weeks I was there,” Latchoo said on Thursday night. “But it was only three sessions. It was because of the time spent with them, the amount of discussion, the questions, the feedback, and the recommendations, because they own the football on the field.Â
“So, we are relying on and empowering them to play and make certain decisions, but we provide the framework so that everybody can be on the same page. Because of the experience – and we mustn’t take the experience of the senior players for granted; they have a lot of experience, and that is probably the biggest strength in the team.”
Latchoo said he has no preference in style of play, insisting he will play to the players’ strengths. But he thinks that the team is very capable in all departments, especially up front.
“I am very, very happy with the ability of the players to score goals,” he said. “There are goalscorers on the team, and it would be one to highlight or to play to the strengths of the team as much as possible.
“The backline has great leadership, from the goalkeeper across the backline. There are very athletic players outside wide, and then we have experience in the middle and on top. We have some youth, but everybody, once they are in front of that goal, they know what to do with the ball.”
The team features top scorers from the Saint Lucia Semi-Professional Football League, Yanic Noel and Garvin Reggie. This is Reggie’s first time joining the senior squad. Attackers such as Caniggia Elva, who scored two goals in the last game against Barbados, are also part of the lineup.
Terell Thomas, who most recently played for Carlisle United in England, is back as Saint Lucia’s captain. The 30-year-old central defender told St Lucia Times that the new staff is settling in well and he is happy with what he has seen from Latchoo so far.
“Something that I see straight away is his observation of things, and then delivering what he’s seen and how we can do better in situations. He’s kept it very simple, which I think is needed in such a short space of time, because when you try to overload players with too much information and philosophies if you want to play a certain way, it doesn’t work.
“He’s trusted us. He said to us, ‘Listen, everyone here is a good footballer; you know how to play football on the field’, and he’s going to trust us in making the right decisions in the game. With that, he just kept it as simple as possible, which I think has helped the group.”
FIFA has changed the international window from one week to two, which now allows for four CNL games to be played across the window. Thomas said he welcomed the change, which allows for greater continuity.
“You have more time working together; more time on the training field means you can iron out better things that you want to do on the pitch. But four games in 14 days is tough on the body, so the recovery phase of it is very important. So, there are positives and negatives.”
Thomas explained that with a new coaching staff in place, the extended international break gives Latchoo more time to implement his plans. After games here on Friday and Monday, the team travels to Barbados for two games next week against Guadeloupe.
“This is the beautiful game of football,” Latchoo said. “I am so happy now in the Caribbean we are able to compete against each other and push each other to become better.
