Fenwick to name Trinidad and Tobago squad Wednesday

TT men’s football team coach Terry Fenwick is expected to announce his squad on Wednesday for a pair of 2022 FIFA World Cup Concacaf Zone qualifiers, against Guyana (March 25 in the Dominican Republic) and Puerto Rico (March 28 in Puerto Rico).

Fenwick said on Tuesday, during a telephone interview, “In my mind, I’ve been settled for a long while on the players that I want to introduce and bring in. Some of them, unfortunately, would not be available for these two games coming up.

“We’ve got one or two (with) injuries that we’re accessing,” he added. “I’ll be naming my squad (on Wednesday) morning.”

Concerning the team’s expected departure from TT, the TT coach said, “Everything is in the hands of the (FIFA-appointed) normalisation committee. I’m hoping we’re going to fly on Thursday.”

The TT team defeated Defence Force 1-0 in a warm-up game at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Monday.

According to the TT coach, “I thought we played some really good and exciting football. We should have scored more goals. Defensively we looked relatively solid. We tried two different formations with the different players that we had available for the game.”

Asked if the players are buying into his tactics, Fenwick replied, “The guys have recognised (that) whatever team I’ve managed in (TT) that I’ve always won a title.”

Concerning the mood in the camp, Fenwick said, “We’ve kept them very buoyant. Apart from the US game (where TT lost 7-0 on January 31), we’ve won every game that we’ve played. They’ve seen the benefits of how we’ve played over 95 minutes where we’ve changed the style of play, what we’re trying to achieve with and without the ball.

“It’s a very young squad. My intentions are that the locally-based (players) will continue to get younger as we progress. I’ve got a handful of senior players around which I would consider as good role models, players that the youngsters can look up to. That is trying to shortcut to the success that we need.”

In a message to the TT public, Fenwick said, “Get behind your country, get behind the kids that have come from your communities. This is a chance to give them your support, show them a level of trust and let’s do this together.”