Lots of work for TT squad says Molino

AS THE dust settles following the end of TT’s 2019 Gold Cup campaign, midfielder Kevin Molino is calling on his teammates to look within themselves and reflect on what transpired for the Dennis Lawrence-coached squad over the past few weeks.

A positive 0-0 draw with Japan in Aichi was the curtain raiser that Lawrence and his staff were hoping would have propelled the team to achieving the results that would have pushed the team beyond the group stage. But that was not to be. A 1-1 draw with Guyana, on Wednesday, left TT bottom of the four-team group with a solitary point.

According to Molino, the squad must evolve from this chapter.

“We leave here disappointed. There is some positive to take from this but still a lot of work to do,” Molino said.

“The players all go back to their clubs and we have to stay focus and reflect on ourselves. They need to keep working until the next time we come together again.”

Molino had a second surgery to repair a torn ACL last year which sidelined him for over a year. He then set goals for himself on the international stage and the performing well at the Gold Cup was high on the list of objectives for 2019. “Being injured for 13 months I was really looking forward to this Gold Cup and coming here and doing well as a team. I’m sorry it has to end in this way with disappointment but don’t matter what happened here, you have another day to make things better and I think we will look at ourselves, take a look in the mirror and see where we have to improve, what we have to work on and I think we are going to get better eventually,” he added.

“It’s going to hurt us for a while. It’s two years we wait for the Gold Cup and now we didn’t qualify for the next round. It’s really tough but we need to stay focused and mentally strong regardless of the circumstances.”

The 29-year-old now has 19 goals in 47 appearances for TT and he intends to keep going. Next up for TT is the Concacaf Nations League with home and away matches against Martinique (September) and Honduras (November) and then the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers commencing next year.

“I still have a lot of football left in me,” said the Minnesota United-based midfielder. “And in sport and football things happen fast. In life you don’t always get second chances. So we as players have more opportunities but have to put ourselves under significant pressure to perform at the highest level.

“We are going to work hard together as a team. Collectively we let ourselves down and we made mistakes but mistakes makes you evolve and I think we have to evolve as a team and keep working…. we are going to get better. We have to keep believing and to the fans, we are going to keep fighting and trying our best for you. To my teammates I think we have to give more, each and everyone, the right mentality and the sacrifices for the game. We have what it takes but we just have to fix our mentality.”