Mercury and coaching team assess Under-17 male players

HEAD COACH of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Male Under-17 Football team, Kendale Mercury, is generally pleased with his squad as he prepares them for their big Concacaf outing early next year.

Recently installed as the outfit’s chief tactician, Mercury oversaw his charges in three matches versus Grenada at the Chili Playing Field, Georgetown, from December 16-18, 2025.

St Vincent and the Grenadines suffered two losses, both by 1-2 margins, while drawing the final encounter, 2-2.

However, Mercury told SEARCHLIGHT that overall, it was the objective of the matches that was paramount.

“Two losses and a draw may be not good for playing at home at this level, but I was not worried because the objectives are still in trial mode and I personally think we competed well in certain areas and in some areas, we were outplayed and out manoeuvred.”

He revealed that the late commencement to getting the squad together meant they were just feeling their way with the players.

“We (the coaching staff) only worked with the team for about two weeks prior to the matches versus Grenada, so we were basically in a trial period, so we agreed to look at the players equally, give them equal opportunities to play in terms of minutes to see how they will compete,” Mercury explained.

Hence, the acronym EARTH was applied, where the players’ effort, attitude, reaction, thoughts and habits were assessed.