“Players’ attitude, not talent hindered performance”

Technical Director of the national football team Zoran Vranes said the team was not fully prepared for the Digicel Caribbean Cup finals held in Trinidad and Tobago last month, but is still proud of the team’s overall effort.

Vranes told a press conference last Wednesday at the federation’s office, that a number of factors hindered the team from getting a better result in the finals, where they defeated Guyana in the opening game but then lost to Cuba and Guadeloupe.{{more}}

He stressed that the lack of proper training facility and the unwillingness of a number of players – especially the younger ones to turn up for training sessions made it hard for the team to be physically ready and also difficult to select the best team for the competition.

The former Trinidad and Tobago coach also noted that Vincy Heat was placed in the “group of death” where the teams they were competing against were better prepared, had more experienced players and technical staff, and that the recovery time after each game was not sufficient.

Vranes said that the attitude and not the talent of some of the players also hindered the team’s performance.

Both Vranes and local coach Roger Gurley stressed the need for more technical support, saying that a physiotherapist, a nutritionist and a psychologist will impact the performance of future teams in a positive way.

Despite the outcome of the finals, Vranes said that he was satisfied with the team’s overall performance, having beaten Jamaica in their “office”, then qualifying in Barbados for the finals and eventually placing 6th overall in a region of 34 teams.